Will You Love Me Tomorrow?
by SeverusSnape
Summary: COMPLETED! Can true hatred in the beginning turn into true love in the end? Our favorite Potion's Master falls in love GASP but then tries to deny it! Will he finally give in to his feelings for Aletta? There is a better summary inside.
1. Summary

Aletta Dumbledore, Albus Dumbledore's niece, is the new DADA professor at Hogwarts. Severus Snape, who has wanted that same job for years, is livid. This story is a story of love, hate, denial and mystery. It all starts when Ronald Weasley is cursed with a Dark Spell, and he loses his memory, so he can't be awakened with a spell. The only way to revive him is a few special plants, a venom that comes from an extremely deadly snake, and the assistance of a certain Potion's Master as well as the new DADA professor. The only place these things can be found, are in the Dark Forest. Severus Snape and Aletta have the difficult task of going deep into the Dark Forest and find the certain ingredients for the potion that will cure the famous Harry Potter's best friend. Unfortunately, the part of the Dark Forest where they will be going is so magical that not even a wand is able to work properly. Will Snape and Aletta find the ingredients and live through their dangerous, life-threatening adventure in the forest? Will they learn who petrified Ron and why? Will Severus and Aletta learn to like and respect each other? Why does Severus want to deny his love for Aletta in the end and forget about them?  
  
I hope this sounds interesting. Leave reviews to tell me if I should take up on this. Later!  
  
~SeverusSnape ')' - Doesn't it look like Snape? With the nose? 


	2. The Graveyard

Chapter 1- The Graveyard  
  
The averse, flaxen-haired man waited impatiently for his comrade. He was five minutes late and he had discreetly told the absent man to be there at 10 sharp. For Death Eaters, lateness was not fluently accepted. They would receive more than just a slap on the hand.   
The man meandered to a nearby cemetery stone and leaned against it as his sourness grew like wildfire. He would sure give that sluggish man a tongue-lashing when he arrived. Suddenly, a pop phonated from behind the man. He turned around to see a stubby, potbellied man with bright blue eyes looking at the other man in fear.   
"I apologize for the delay, Lucius," he stammered hopelessly. "But my son needed to-,"  
"Silence, you thickheaded, twit!" he boomed as he stood up to his full height, making the little man seem tinier than ever.  
Lucius approached the man as he removed his wand from his inside robe pocket.  
"I'm sick and tired of your bird-brained lies," he added lightly as he held the tip of the wand to a scar on the man's arm, the place where his Dark Mark used to be. "And if our Master were alive and present, he would want me to give you punishment for your indolence."  
Lucius whispered something in Latin, and the man fell to his knees as he grasped his arm in pain.   
"Now doesn't that cause you pain and laceration?" Lucius asked the man that was now shouting and fluttering on the ground. "It's a new curse that the Dark Lord had taught me himself, before Dumbledore, Snape and Potter had defeated him."  
The man suddenly stopped writhing in pain and stood up as the curse started to abrade off.   
"Now, Crabbe. You know about the others, correct?" Lucius asked the man who seemingly had the name, Crabbe.  
"Yes, sir. They are all in Azkaban," Crabbe replied in a hoarse voice.  
Lucius nodded his head and continued, "We need to get them out and start another Death Eater group, except I will take the Dark Lord's place."  
"But, sir. You know we could never do that! There are only three Death Eaters in Azkaban! And even if we get them out, we would never be able to conquer the wizarding world!"  
"Hogwarts has Slytherins, Crabbe! Your son will join and my son-,"  
"But, sir. I already promised my son that I wouldn't have him become a Death Eater!"  
Lucius turned around to look at Crabbe and before any more words were spoken, he yelled the curse that all wizards feared to hear. Crabbe then crumbled to the ground in a heap and Lucius walked up to his limp body.  
"It's a pity to kill a man of such stupidity," Lucius droned to himself out loud. "But it was for the better."   
He then smiled faintly at the corpse.   
"Poor, insignificant bastard," he whispered.  
The heartless man then apparated into the darkness. 


	3. Dream Guys, Missing Guys, and Cherry Pie...

Chapter 2- Dream Guys, Missing Guys, and Cherry Pies  
"Sweetie, it's time to get up!" Joan Dumbledore yelled from the bottom of the mountainous, statuesque, marble staircase.   
The short, middle-aged, brunette walked toward the kitchen to start her daughter's breakfast so she could get her out of the house and onto the train. Today was her departure to her new job at Hogwarts. Her uncle had generously given her the job last month and she was ecstatic. Being a muggle, Joan still did not understand the wizarding world even though her daughter was a witch.   
Meanwhile, fast asleep in a courtly, elegant room, was Joan Dumbledore's daughter. The angelic, tall, wavy-haired blonde was snoring nimbly as her dreams refused to abandon her witty mind and arouse her from her immersed sleep. She was laying on her right side and her left leg was dangling over the side of the bed while her arm was tucked under her head.   
"Aletta!" Joan hollered from the kitchen as she cracked an egg into a frying pan. "If you're not down here in five minutes, I'm sending Drifter up!"  
Evidently, Aletta did not hear her mother's call. So after five minutes, Aletta's face was being licked happily. She groaned and covered her face with her hand. So the white, Labrador started to lick her hand, not feeling rejected at all. Aletta opened one eye to look at the adorable, innocent dog that didn't know that he had just disturbed a wonderful dream. She then realized that she remembered her dream. Aletta usually forgets what her dreams are about, but the wonderful one she had just experienced was still blazing, clearly in her mind. She swore that she had dreamed about that mysterious man before. How soft those hands were, she thought, and that silky, long, raven-black hair. He was so cruel at first, she recollected, but turned into an attractive, flat out gentleman. She then suddenly realized how foolish she was being. Fantasizing about a guy in her dreams who doesn't even exist! How profoundly doltish! Then again, she was probably dreaming about guys so much since she had never even had a boyfriend before. Sure, tons of guys asked her out on dates, but they just didn't have what she was looking for. She was one of those fools who believed in love at first sight. She would always tell herself that it was pathetic that she didn't date certain men because they didn't make her get that ever so special, love-sick feeling when she first saw them. Yes, she knew she had problems.   
"But that man in my dreams made me get that beautiful feeling," she murmured out loud to Drifter, who was now looking at her with cinnamon, puppy-dog eyes, pleading her to scratch him.  
Aletta giggled at her dog's cuteness and started to scratch him behind his ears.   
"If only my 'dream guy' were real," she said to Drifter. "Than I wouldn't be so . . . messed up."  
She laughed at her description of herself and got out of bed to dress and go down to breakfast.  
When Aletta and her shapely form walked into the kitchen, her mother glared at her as she took her seat at the table.  
"How many times have I told you to set your alarm clock!" she babbled. "You know, when you go to your job, you can't expect your uncle or anybody else to come to your room and wake you up! And if you come home saying you got fired for sleeping in, I will not pity you-,"  
"Mother!" Aletta beseeched. "I know!" she added, putting emphasis on 'know'.  
Joan inhaled to calm her anger down.   
"Oh, and your owl dropped off that wizard newspaper for you," she added as she set the eggs and bacon in front of Aletta and dropped the Daily Prophet down next to it.  
As Aletta picked her bacon up to nibble at it, she saw an article about a missing wizard. She dropped her bacon on her plate and picked up the paper to read it. When she skimmed through it, she saw that the missing person was one whom she had known of.  
"Mother, do the neighbors know Victor Crabbe?" Aletta asked Joan.  
Joan turned around with a teapot in her hand and said, "Oh, yes. Mr. Weasley knows him. Your father and I went over to their house for dinner a couple days ago and they talked about his disappearance. I'm surprised it was in the newspaper today instead of Tuesday!"  
"That sure is odd, though," Aletta added. "And it says here that he was last seen at a house next to a cemetery. I'm sure whoever killed him must have gotten rid of his body. AND he was a Death Eater."  
"Dear, how do you know if he was killed or not!" Joan exclaimed as she brought Aletta a glass of cold, orange juice. "For all we know, he could have gotten lost!"  
"Mom . . . it is quite rare that a wizard would get lost," Aletta explained. "So it is a very good possibility that someone just knocked him off . . . good riddance if you ask me."  
"Aletta, will you ever learn to be civil-like!?"   
"He was going to go to Azkaban sooner or later and die there! If you ask me, I would say the guy who killed him put him out of his misery."  
Joan ignored her sarcastic daughter as the buzzer for the oven went off. She waddled over to it with her oven mittens on and took out a large, steamy cherry pie. Joan then set it on the counter to cool.  
Now finished with her breakfast, Aletta walked over to the delicious-looking pie.  
"That's not for you!" Joan said quickly. "It's for the Weasleys. And when it cools down, you will take it to them on your way to the train station, capeesh?"  
"Um . . . yes?" she replied weirdly since she had no idea what 'capeesh' meant.  
"Good," Joan said merrily. "Now go upstairs and bring down your luggage. Pies cool faster than you think!"  
Aletta's mother then bustled off to start the laundry as Aletta headed upstairs to gather her things.  
  
  
A/N: I used forshadowing in this! Haha! I'm smart. lol.   
Hint- Forshadowing is the line ""Mom . . . it is quite rare that a wizard would get lost," Aletta explained.  
I Am Evil!! Mwahahahaha!! 


	4. Weasleys and Friends

Weasleys and Friends- Chapter 3  
  
Aletta ran upstairs to collect her belongings which included a huge, white tote bag that weighed as if an elephant was packed inside it, and a large suitcase, accompanied with a cage containing a beautiful, white owl with freckled, smoky spots. Aletta called him Smoky.  
After she transported her heavy luggage to her car, she ran into the kitchen to collect the cherry pie.  
Before she could run back out, her mother called her back. Aletta set the pie down on the table next to the door and walked back to her mother, out of breath. As soon as she walked into the kitchen, she started to complain, which was one of her bad habits.  
"Mum, I don't want to miss the train! And I still need to drop off the pie and-,"  
As Aletta rambled on, her mother approached her and cradled her radiant, natural face with both of her hands. Aletta suddenly stopped as her mother gave her a small smile.  
"Sweetie, I would just like to let you know that I'm proud of you. You will do fine at Hogwarts," Aletta smiled at her mother's thoughtfulness. "And do try to meet a nice man while you're away. Your father and I have been itching for a grandchild!"  
Aletta pulled out of her mother's grasp disgusted and exclaimed, "Mother! I can't have an affair with a student!"  
"There are male professors, child!" Joan explained. "I, of course, didn't mean a student!"  
Aletta laughed at her silliness and hugged her mother.   
"Don't worry, mum," she said. "I won't let you down. I know I haven't exactly done well at my other jobs-,"  
"Aletta," Joan said seriously. "Please get along with the staff. I know you haven't gotten along with a lot of you colleagues in your past professions, so all I'm asking of you is for you to control that anger that rises up in you so easily. Remember your breathing and-,"  
"Mother, I know!" Aletta said annoyed.   
"Please try to ignore the unpleasant people there. I am sure that there are many students that are very-,"  
"Mother!"  
"-rude to their professors and I'm sure they wouldn't make an exception with you and you know how kids are these days to their teachers and-,"  
"MUM!" Aletta yelled as loud as he could to cease her mother's incoherent ramblings.  
Joan suddenly stifled herself and walked over to collect the pie. She brought it over to Aletta.  
"Here," she said holding out the pie to Aletta and she took it carefully. "I think it's cool now."  
"Okay, thanks Mum," she then leaned over and pecked Joan on the cheek.  
"See you over the holidays!"   
Aletta then disappeared out the door.  
  
  
Ding Dong!  
A short, plump, lady came to the door of The Burrow and opened it. There stood the admirable, well formed, five foot eleven Aletta Dumbledore with a huge, flavorsome-looking cherry pie. The lady eyed it with interest in her eyes. She obviously hoped it was for her.  
"Hello, dear!" she cried out in mirth as she stepped to the side so Aletta could enter the house. "We've been expecting you!"  
"Oh, you have?" Aletta asked, confused.  
"Yes," she said. "Joan called and said that you would take the kids to King's Cross Station!"  
Aletta was shocked. She would love to take them, but she didn't know if there was room in her old, crappy Dodge Spirit. Wait a minute, she thought, I'm a bloody witch.  
"Okay," she said, her eyes twinkling.  
"Good," Mrs. Weasley chattered. "Just let me run in the kitchen and collect the children!"  
Before she could scamper off, Aletta called out, "Oh, and Mrs. Weasley?"  
The amiable, red- headed lady nodded her head as a sign for her to continue.  
"This is for you. My mother made it," she said holding out the pie.  
Mrs. Weasley beamed, as she finally knew it was for her. She took it out of Aletta's hands and ran into the kitchen yelling behind her, "Thank you! It looks delicious. Now I better get those kids out there and into the car. You don't want to be late for the train!"  
Aletta checked her watch and realized it was almost ten and it takes a half and hour to get to the station, and the train leaves at eleven. She was now slowly growing anxious.  
Suddenly, six teens walked out of the kitchen and toward the doorway. One of the girls had bushy, brown hair and cinnamon eyes. The other girl next to her was Ginny, Aletta supposed. She hadn't seen the Weasley kids in years since she had always been bustling around looking for a well-paying job. The boy next to Ginny had jet-black hair, emerald-green eyes, and glasses. She then noticed the other three boys. Ron was the second tallest and still had that cute, friendly face she would never forget. And the other two she saw were the twins, Fred and George, who had grown to be quite handsome but still had the evil glint in their eyes.  
When they approached her, Ron's mouth fell open as he looked at Aletta. She tried hard not to laugh.   
"H-hello," he stuttered. "I'm Ron."  
Aletta smiled at him and replied, "I know, Ron. Nice to see you! You've grown into quite a handsome, young man!"  
Ron thought he was going to faint as his cheeks turned a deeper red than his hair. The prettiest girl that he was gaping at knew his name. And thought he was handsome!  
Aletta then turned to the boy she didn't know next to Ron. Her eyes then roamed to the lightening-bolt shaped scar on his forehead, but she quickly looked away to not be rude.  
"And you are?" she asked, knowing that it would have been sort of rude if she asked him if he was Harry Potter.  
"Harry," he said timidly, "Potter."  
Aletta smiled at him and turned to the brunette with the bushy hair that didn't look very pleased.  
"Hi," Aletta said sweetly, hoping for at least a smile in return.  
The girl just kept her frown on and swept past Aletta toward the car, with her luggage.  
"Don't mind her," Ron said. "She's just jealous because I think you're pretty-,"  
"Oh, don't flatter yourself!" Harry joked as he lightly punched the blushing Ron in the arm.  
Aletta laughed and turned to Fred and George as Harry and Ron went to put their things in the car, "Hello, Fred," she said to one of them, hoping he really was Fred.  
"Hello," the one next to him said. "I'm Fred, not him."  
"And I'm George," said the one Aletta thought was Fred.  
"And you guys have also turned out to be quite attractive," she complimented.  
George and Fred then blushed slightly and picked up their bags to put them in the car. Aletta then turned to the little girl that was left. Ginny.   
"Hi, Ginny," Aletta greeted warmly. "How are you?"  
"Good," she said shyly, glancing around Aletta to look at her other friends.   
Aletta could tell she got very nervous when she met someone. She doubted Ginny remembered her since she was only two when Aletta knew her.   
"Do you want to go put your stuff in the car?" Aletta suggested, and she nodded quickly as she rushed past Aletta to the car.  
Aletta then followed suite and ended up at the car that was now full with kids. Ron was sitting between the twins and Ginny and Harry sat upfront. The brown bushy-haired was standing outside the car, telling one of them to move over. Aletta walked over to the girl and said, "A simple spell, and you'll fit easily and comfortably in the back."  
The girl glared at Aletta as she performed a spell and the inside of the car got wider while the outside stayed the same. As the girl got into the car, Aletta walked to the back of the car and did the same spell, except on the trunk. It grew twice as big as it was before and she fit the entire luggage in nicely. When she was finished and content with the seating arrangements as well as the placement of the luggage, she ran inside to tell the Weasleys that they were departing for the train station. Aletta then walked back out with Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, following her to say their goodbyes. Aletta got into the car and when they were done with their farewells, Aletta turned on the car and set off toward the train station.  
"Mum told us you were going to be the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor?" Hermione, who Aletta had learned was the bushy girls name, asked later during the ride, already forgiving Aletta and being a bit bolder since the whole group had been talking all about music and magic. After all the spells Aletta told them she was going to teach them, Hermione grew quite fond of her.   
"Well, she's right," Aletta confirmed.   
Aletta heard the whole group sigh of relief and she asked why.  
"Well, there's this one cruel, nasty professor at Hogwarts that has always yearned for that job, and we feared that Professor Dumbledore was going to hire him for it," Harry explained as the whole group started to talk about how relieved they were.  
"What does he- or her teach?" Aletta asked with curiosity.  
"Potions," they all said in unison and Aletta nodded.  
"And he's a he," Ginny added in a squeak.   
Aletta turned to her and smiled. She then realized that she still hadn't asked the kids what year they were all in.  
"So what year are you guys in?"   
Ron answered for all of them, "Harry, Hermione, and I are 5th years and Ginny is a 4th year while the twins are 7th years."  
The twins groaned as they thought about how they would need to take N.E.W.T.S and other tough tests.   
"Well, we're here!" Aletta exclaimed and the kids began to chatter louder as Aletta pulled into the Kings Cross Station. 


	5. Hogwarts

Chapter 4- Hogwarts  
  
The train ride to Hogwarts had been quite a facetious experience for Aletta. She had chosen a compartment that was occupied by two other professors. One was a stern-looking lady that had her hair tied back tightly and the other was a man that looked like a mini Santa Claus. She supposed he was a dwarf, but he was extremely kind while the other was unrelenting and hard shelled. When Aletta told them who she was, the couple introduced themselves as well. The authoritarian was Minerva Mcgonagall, Headmistress of Hogwarts, Head of Gryfinndor, and Transfiguration professor. The compassionate, little man was Filius Flitwick, the Charms professor. Both were surprised to find that Aletta was Professor Dumbledore's great niece, but also very gratified. Aletta had conversed with the two professors during the whole voyage. She had warmed up to Professor Flitwick instantly while Professor Mcgonagall took awhile to get used to. Aletta wasn't very used to polite, cold people. At her other jobs, the people were just arrantly rude to her and never had manners. She was sure that Professor Mcgonagall was not the only implacable one at Hogwarts. Presently, Aletta was conversing with Flitwick about music and the kind she admired. He had never heard of the bands she had brought up, but said he would be delighted to listen to them sometime. The train abruptly came to a halt, and Aletta glanced out the window to see an unpopulated train station. She wanted to look ahead for the castle and foolishly pressed her face hard against the window to see if she could spot it. Failing to do so, she brought her head from the window and turned to look at the others. Professor Mcgonagall was giving her a look of pure wonderment while the other one stifled a giggle. Aletta yelled at herself inwardly for acting so . . . like herself. This is going to be one hell of a year, she thought as she watched the once deserted train station fill with students. Her eye was suddenly drawn to a yellow-haired, pointy nosed boy with two other obese, dense-looking boys that seemed to be snickering at a threesome. Aletta strained her eyes to see the three kids and noticed that they were Hermione, Harry, and Ron. And the two boys were glaring at the flaxen-haired boy with what looked like hatred.  
"Excuse me?" Aletta's attention was suddenly brought back to her compartment and she looked at the one who had called her. The called turned out to be someone other than the professors that were with her moments ago. At the doorway to her compartment stood an attractive, dusky-haired man. He gave her a smile that gleamed, "I have a dentist appointment every twenty minutes."   
Aletta smiled kindly at him. "The train will be leaving soon so if you don't mind-," he said.   
"Oh, of course!" she exclaimed embarrassed. The man continued to check the other compartments while Aletta exited the train into a throng of students. She glanced to her left and failed to see the castle so she reversed the direction of her gaze to find an enchanting castle sitting in the midst. Her mouth gaped as she studied its beautiful features.   
"Hi!" someone said from beside her. "Would you like to ride in a carriage with me, Harry, and Ron?" Aletta turned to see Hermione.   
"I'd love too," she answered. Aletta then followed Hermione into a carriage to be taken off to the most wonderful castle she had ever seen. 


	6. Man Of My Dreams

Hey, to all of my British reviewers! I was just wondering if they still showed the TV show "Fawlty Towers" over there in good ol' Britain. (I love Fawlty Towers!!!)  
Okay, on with the story!  
  
Walking at an incautiously speed, the furious Potions Master approached the Headmaster's office, franticly knocking so he could barge in as soon as possible.  
"Come in," Albus Dumbledore's contempt, light voice called from within.  
The cavernous, black robed man burst into the room with a look of utter rage. His silky, jet hair was blown about his pale-skinned face and his deep, onyx oceans he had for eyes held nothing but lividness within their depths. He neared the Headmaster's desk and saw that he was holding an absurd looking mechanism in his hands. On top of it was a little round ball with a face on it, and it had a stick-like shape. Albus pressed his thumb on top of the plastic head and out from under it popped a tiny brick. He popped it into his mouth and chewed it, enjoying the taste of it. The black-robed man rolled his eyes as he realized that it was just another one of the Headmaster's many candies. He adored his sweets.  
"Headmaster," the man said urgently. "I was just informed by Professor Mcgonagall that a woman will be teaching Defense Against The Dark Arts. Is this true?"  
Albus looked up from his candy toy and held it out to the man, "Would you care for a Pez, Severus?"  
"No," he said through gritted teeth. "And it seems to me that you are ignoring my interrogation, now is the new professor a woman or not?"  
Albus popped another Pez into his mouth and nodded happily, "Indeed."  
Severus sighed out of frustration and collapsed into the nearest chair, "Headmaster, a woman cannot possibly have the capabilities for that sort of job."  
"I am very well aware of her capabilities, Severus," Albus said slowly as Severus picked up a piece of parchment that was sitting on the table next to him. "And I can assure you she is quite capable of the job."  
"Are you," Severus mumbled sarcastically as he examined his perfect nails.  
"Of course. She is, after all, my great-niece," he added as he watched Severus closely, his eyes twinkling with humor.  
Severus punched himself inwardly. Brace your arse, Severus, he thought; you're about to be sacked in 10-9-8-7-.   
"You, of course, are eager to meet her?" he asked, enjoying the way he had embarrassed Severus.   
Severus sighed inwardly as he realized that Albus was not upset with him, and narrowed his gaze at him, "Of course."  
Dumbledore smiled at the forced answer and asked, "Is there anything else you wish to discuss with me, Severus?"  
Snape gazed at the piece of parchment in his hand and thought about the new professor. He hadn't even met her yet and she was already making his life miserable. He was sure he had his ideal job in his grasp and this . . . woman had snatched it away in a heartbeat. Too bad I'm not related to Dumbledore, he thought.  
"I did not give her the job because she is my niece, but because she is qualified for it."  
Bugger, thought Severus, the old man is reading my bloody thoughts again.   
"I understand, Headmaster," he replied, not taking his gaze away from the piece of parchment in his hand.  
Severus thought of the woman again and let slip out loud, "Rubbish!"  
"I beg your pardon?" the headmaster asked.  
Think fast, he thought, the parchment! Severus crinkled up the parchment in his hands and repeated, "Rubbish! More of this bloody rubbish!" and then threw it in the basin next to the desk.  
Dumbledore smiled knowingly and asked, "Anything else of importance you need to speak to me of?"  
"No, Headmaster," he replied and stood up to exit.  
Before Severus disappeared down the stairs, Dumbledore stopped him.  
"And Severus?"   
Snape turned around and gazed back at his fatherly figure, "Yes, Headmaster?"  
"Be kind to her," he said gently.   
"I will, Headmaster," he replied with a smirk.  
Albus nodded with a small smile and Severus took his leave after he nodded back.  
Aletta filed down the corridor very slowly as she observed her glorious surrounding. The castle was anything but ordinary, and seemed to be taken care of quite well. As she rounded a corner, she noticed a staircase leading down into a cold, damp, dungeon. Harry had told her that the dungeons were the place that the Potions Master lurked about all day. She walked to the top of the staircase and peered down to find nothing but darkness and a few faint candles flickering as the soft, chilly breeze blew from the dungeons. She was glad that she wouldn't be teaching down in that unfriendly atmosphere, but realized that she still didn't know where her quarters were.   
"Hello!" a friendly voice sounded from behind her.   
She gasped and turned to find a ghost.   
"Goodness!" she gasped again as she noticed the ghost to be a knight of some sort.   
"I'm Sir Nicolas!" he introduced.   
"How do you do," she said sweetly.  
But before she could introduce herself, he had already drifted on through the wall next to her. Good Lord, she mused to herself. Now she had known that there were ghosts but had never met one, save seen one. Now that she had recuperated from her 'frightening yet friendly at the same time' experience, Aletta now continued onward toward the Great Hall. She had been informed that someone would be waiting there for her to show her to her quarters. And someone was, indeed, waiting for her.  
"Hello Professor Dumbledore," Professor Mcgonagall greeted.  
"Hello," Aletta greeted back, but did not use her name since she had already forgotten it.   
Professor Mcgonagall gave Aletta a stern look, and started to walk the way Aletta had come from, "Follow me."  
Aletta followed her easily, thinking about how shorter people would have a hard time catching up to this ludicrously fast professor. Only two minutes have gone by and they were standing right next to the staircase to the dungeons.   
"Your chambers are down here," she said strictly as she now continued her way down the stairs. She halted halfway down, nearly have Aletta trip over her, and grabbed a candle that was floating in midair.   
"You may use this when you are going to your chambers," she said. "It is quite dark down here and we don't want you falling and breaking a limb."  
Aletta raised her eyebrows as she imagined the darkness of the dungeons. A picture of a ridiculously pitch-black corridor came into her mind. The lower and lower they went, the darker it seemed to get. Aletta could only imagine how cold and unfriendly the atmosphere was at the bottom.   
"How far down am I?" Aletta asked between breaths since the walk had already tuckered her out.   
"Just a couple more flights of stairs and then we will be there," she answered sharply, apparently not bothered by the long, tiring walk.  
"Are there classrooms down there?" she asked.  
"Of course not! We can't have students this far down in the dungeons. It would scare them to death!"  
"It's already scaring me to death," she laughed nervously, trying to make it a simple, miniscule joke.  
Professor Mcgonagall ignored her attempt at humor and continued on without even slowing down her pace. Finally, after what seemed like twenty minutes, they had reached their destination. Aletta appeared to be in a Gothic corridor with cobwebs hanging from the corners of the ceiling.  
"It appears that the caretakers are scared of this place, as well," she attempted once again.  
Professor Mcgonagall turned around and Aletta found herself looking at one annoyed professor.  
"Your rooms are right behind this painting," she said as she motioned her head toward a painting of a beautiful garden.   
It's like an oxymoron, Aletta thought as she thought of the painting that hung against the dusty wall, flamboyant to everything else.  
"Your password at the moment is 'Drago'," she said. "And the painting over there," she pointed to a painting that seemed to fit within its surroundings better than Aletta's, " is Professor Snape's rooms. So if you are in need of anything, I'm sure he would be obliged to attend to you."  
"Thank you," Aletta said kindly.  
Professor Mcgonagall then left Aletta in the darkness of the corridor. She seemed kinder on the train, she thought.   
"And she could of at least left the candle," she muttered to herself. "And I don't even have my wand."  
Aletta thought of what an ignoramus she was for putting her wand in her purse as well as putting her purse with her luggage. Now she couldn't even tell where her painting was. She then remembered the password. Before she could speak it, she heard a swooping sound from behind her. Aletta then heard footsteps and felt that someone was approaching her. She turned around to find a figure standing a little ways from her. She could tell it was a man by the way of his steps and he seemed to be wearing black. She suddenly heard a spell and the corridor suddenly lit with faint light. She could now make out his features. Although braced for his look of displeasure, she was jolted by his piercing gaze. Shards of somber black splintered over her face before he glanced away, dismissing her as being of little importance. Aletta blinked for an instant to retain her poise. The jet blackness of his hair had not prepared her to meet a pair of eyes of atramentous black. Aletta had never met anyone, let alone seen someone with ebony, black eyes. It almost frightened her.   
"I'm sorry," she said to get his attention. "But are you Professor Snape?"  
He brought his wand up to peer at his own painting as to make sure it was closed. His hand had almost an ivory color to it because of the flicker of the light.   
"Yes," he said coldly.   
The clipped indifference was reinforced by the lack of a glance in Aletta's direction.  
"Professor Snape," she said as she approached him. "This is really a pleasure to meet you."  
Aletta wasn't about to offer a hand in greeting. As rude as he was, he would ignore it, and she didn't intend for herself to be cut like that.   
"And please call me Aletta. All my friends do."  
The quicksilver sheen of his eyes passed over her face briefly and impatiently, openly wishing her gone. It only increased Aletta's resolve to remain.   
"So, are you heading up to the feast?"  
There was a speaking glance from Professor Snape that told her to shut up and get lost.   
"What do you teach?"  
"Miss. Dumbledore!" Impatiently he snapped the words out, darkening his eyes even more.  
"Yes?" she asked sweetly.  
"Are you finished?" he snapped again, his eyes glaring at her intently that she swore she could feel the holes he was burning in her very head.   
"Just, thank you so much!" she called as she started off toward the staircase.   
As she did so, she heard him whisper something in Latin and heard something like a wall open up. No wonder he was just standing there. Apparently he was waiting for her to leave so he could go lurk off somewhere and terrorize more women. She dared not look back for fear that he would kill her with his mighty stare. As much as she hated to admit it, she found him quite attractive .Yet she was sure he thought everything less than that of her. The way he looked at her angered her so. He would act toward her as though she was a mere child and nothing of importance. And maybe she only found him attractive in the dark. I mean, she mused, I bet he is so horrendous in light that I won't bear to look his way. But inside her, she had the gut feeling that she had seen his appearance correctly. He is still a bloody bastard though, she thought. But she then suddenly knew why he had been so attractive to her. He reminded her of a man in her dreams. One of her immoral dreams. Dreams that would make her turn a color that would even bring shame to a rose. And she was sure that he was the exact man that she had been dreaming about every night.  
Is that long enough for ya? Please review!!!! 


	7. The Damnable Phantom

Sorry it took me so long to update. I hope you enjoy this chapter!  
  
When Aletta reached the top of the staircase, she realized that she still needed to get into her rooms. Why did I come up here then, she thought. She then grabbed a nearby floating candle and set off back down the stairs. After what seemed like five minutes, she had reached the bottom again. Now that she had a candle, she could see in the ridiculously dark corridor. Aletta then heard the familiar opening of a painting.  
"What are you doing down here?" the same silky voice she talked to before asked from the opposite side where she was standing.  
Aletta turned around and saw the golden light of her candle flame light over onyx black hair and the lightly paled features of the man walking toward her. She felt her senses sharpening immediately. There was something about this remarkable man that made her adrenaline rush out of control. But she did not let his catlike grace and hard gaze steer her out of sanity. Aletta had not anticipated the worldliness and sophistication she saw now. A stranger viewing this Snape in billowing black robes, black boots, and black slacks would see him as a bandit or jackal, not a man of guidance and pedagogy as Aletta had labeled him. She had underestimated him, and it was a mistake she didn't intend to repeat.  
"My quarters are down here," she croaked finally.  
Her disturbed reply brought a quick twisting smile of cynicism to his ruthlessly hard mouth, but his look directed at Aletta was smoothly without emotion. Her desire to run as far away from him as possible was nearly insuppressible. The palms of her hands were beginning to become damp. Aletta chided herself to relax and stop being intimidated by the man standing across from her. She had maneuvered him quite easily earlier. There was no reason to think she couldn't do it again if the need arose. To break the chafed silence he replied in his cold voice, "I was skeptical of why you were down here previously."   
"Oh," she said dumbly. "Well, I really must be going. The Sorting will be starting soon."  
Before she could turn around to leave, he said, "The Sorting commenced about twenty minutes ago," he said mockingly.  
"I see," she said. "Then may I ask why you are down here when it has already begun?"  
"I had some paramount business to attend to," he sneered lightly, "not that it is any concern of yours."   
His black moodiness was back and Aletta was starting to get distraught.   
"Oh, and of course it wouldn't be any concern of mine seeing that I am, indeed, the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher," she said kindly. "And I'm sure your business would be a bit too miniscule and second-rate for a person such as myself."   
Aletta gave him a small, sensuous fake smile. His gaze centered on the wanton curve of her lips, glistening with the moistness of her gloss.  
" I envy you intensely," he said with sarcasm. "And I pity myself for not having as much," he glanced over her whole body, "authority as you do."  
A pulse throbbed in her throat as unwillingly Aletta glanced at the firm line of his mouth, a hint of cruelty in its masculine hardness. It would be no gentle kiss that he'd give a woman, she absurdly thought out of the blue.   
"If you would excuse me, my lady," he drawled as he bowed to her in mockery. He then swept past her in long strides and ascended the staircase, his robes billowing behind him, giving him the appearance of a damnable phantom in a moonless night. 


	8. Oblivion and Ghosts

Chapter 8- Oblivion and Ghosts  
  
Aletta was beside herself! What a rude, smug, malignant man, she thought, how dare he say that to me! His last words to her continuously played over in her mind.   
"And I pity myself for not having as much . . . authority as you do."  
Aletta slammed her bathroom door shut and began to change into a formal black, satiny dress with a V-neck and spaghetti straps. The dress went down to her knees and hugged her curves and bosom perfectly. After she slipped it on, she walked over to the walnut vanity mirror above a table in her bedroom. A few flicks of her brush achieved the windswept style of her hair, tousled like a wispy cloud trailing away from her face in shimmering waves of dusty amber. The pale tan of her complexion needed no makeup; a moisturizing cream provided a subdued glow. A very light application of eye shadow gave a hint of gray to intensify the color of her eyes.   
"Applying warpaint," her reflection teased wickedly. Yes, Aletta smiled, reaching for the mascara.  
At half past six, she was ready to go face the heartless bat.  
  
It had taken Aletta about five minutes to find the Great Hall. And when she did find it, the feast had indeed already started. She had missed the sorting. As she cursed silently under her breath, she opened the voluminous doors to the Great Hall and entered cautiously. Hastily, she walked quickly toward her great uncle, every pair of eyes on her. When she had reached the table at the front of the Hall, she realized that the only seat left was right next to her object of dislike. Aletta was apparently feeling very brave that day, and she looked right up into those black, abysmal eyes. She suddenly looked away, not able to bear the emptiness in them, and pivoted toward her seat.   
As she sat down, Albus stood up and addressed the students, "Students, may I please have your utmost attention." The sounds of conversation died down and turned their focus on their Headmaster.   
Albus continued, "I am proud to announce that our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher has finally arrived! And without any further ado, I would like to introduce you to Professor Aletta Dumbledore!"  
The halls filled with applause and whistles. Aletta suddenly felt a pang of happiness as they applauded her. She stood and nodded.  
"Aletta isn't a name you hear every day, is it not?"  
The silky, full-toned voice made Aletta jump. Yet, her composure came back just as quickly.   
"Professor Snape," she said as she retook her seat, not glancing at him, "I didn't see you there."  
That's rich, she thought, of course he'll know you bloody well saw him.  
"Oblivion is sweet," he purred gently, "but I suggest you look at whom you're sitting next to. You might regret it."  
I already do, she answered in her head.   
Aletta suddenly did a very foolish thing. She turned her head to look upon him, and was greeted by the same, spooky eyes. Snape's mouth quirked at the corner as she stared at him. How handsome he was. But she would not let that get her to lose her composure she had already regained. Irritated at her schoolgirlish stare, Aletta glanced away swiftly. She ate the rest of her dinner in silence, not talking to anyone until a ghost appeared before her. She then realized it was the same ghost she had stumbled upon before.   
"Hello!" he said joyfully. "I'm Sir Nicolas!"  
"Yes I know," Aletta laughed as she studied the ghost.  
"Your uncle has told me about how you had always wanted to see a ghost!"  
"Oh, yes," she said."I've dreamed about it ever since I was a girl!"  
"You dream about dead guys?" that oh-so-familiar, sarcastic voice jeered from next to her.   
Aletta ignored his remark and continued her conversation with Sir Nicolas, hoping that she would soon be able to leave the uncomfortable spot she was in. 


	9. Pivoting Chairs and Mumblings

Pivoting Chairs and Mumblings  
  
After Aletta was finished speaking with the kind, nearly headless ghost, she decided that she would like to take a look around the classroom she would be teaching in.   
"Uncle Albus!" she called down the table.  
Each of the professors turned toward her and she felt a bit discomfited and flustered. Albus was also looking at her, but with more warmth than the others. Aletta didn't dare turn to look at the stone wolf next to her, but she felt his eyes oxidizing chasms into her bare skin. The pressure was too great and she said as quickly as she could, "May I be excused so I will be able to survey my classroom before tomorrow?"  
"Of course, dear," he answered gently with his eyes looking as though they were ablaze with twinkling stars.   
Aletta nodded to him and stood up from her seat, her arm accidentally brushing her fork onto the ground. Aletta leaned over and grasped it, realizing that someone else had already clutched it. She didn't know why, but she still hadn't withdrawn her hand that was now resting on top of the other person's. She noted how it was remarkably warm and rough. Aletta was then suddenly aware of the hot breath in her ear. She was brought back to Earth and removed her hand swiftly. As she stood back up, she peered down at the only man who had caused her grief since she had set foot in Hogwarts. He was holding her fork in his outstretched right hand.  
"You dropped this," he droned cynically as she detached it from his hand and thrust it back onto the table.   
"Thank you," she cussed as she whipped around and paced toward the entrance of the Great Hall. Before she exited, she glanced around to see his expression. He had a look of utter infuriation. Good, she thought, and she continued her way through the massive doors.   
  
Aletta found her classroom to be astronomic. There were five rows of desks that could seat two, and each row held four desks. Forty students! She hoped that not all of her classes would be jammed with forty students! She couldn't bear the sight, not to mention the sound, of a class glutted with forty delirious, blatant students. Aletta felt nauseated at the thought. How would she survive? But don't jump to conclusions, she thought, you might not even have twenty students in one class! Aletta's agitation slightly subsided at the thought. She then was suddenly aware of a desk at the front of the room. She walked over to it and ran her hand delicately over the fine oak. She sat down in the chair and swiveled around a couple times. Aletta was, supposedly, enjoying it a bit too much and started to swivel faster. One firm push led to another and she found herself flat on the ground.   
"Those chairs are misleading," a silky, soft voice said from in front of her desk. She looked up at him, and he was now leaning over the desk to gaze upon her ruffled form on the ground. But he seemed to be looking at her waist. Aletta suddenly realized that her dress had ridden up and was showing a bit too much of her tan, silky thigh. Immediately, she pulled it down and saw him smirk. Bastard, she thought intensely. She couldn't suppress the soft blush that was now forming on her cheeks, or the tingling sensation in her body. Realizing she was still on the ground, and that he was still leering at her, she pushed herself up onto her knees so she could stand up. When she stood up to her full height, she remembered what he had said to her.   
"Misleading?" she said questionably. "How so?"  
"Well, I can't even begin to tell you how many professors and students I had seen fly out of that chair. It is quite amusing on my part," he purred.  
"Oh really?" she said. "Well, then are you to say that you have also had the pleasure of pivoting in this chair?"  
"Of course not," he snapped. "I don't do such childish things!"  
Aletta murmured, "No surprise there."  
"What?" he snarled as his cold black eyes searched hers.   
"Oh nothing," she mumbled. "Now why are you here, exactly?"  
"The Headmaster wanted me to check up on you," he confirmed, rolling his eyes in the process.  
"Okay then," she jested as she turned around in a circle, her arms stretched out. "Have you got me all checked out now? Good. Well than I suggest you use the door to take your leave. I have some lesson plans to prepare."  
"You are a procrastinator, I see," he murmured as he turned to leave.   
"Only to piss you off," she mumbled at his back as she sat down in, which now was, her favorite chair.   
"What?" he asked as he swept around to face her.  
"Nothing," she said with a mock, innocent look. "You may go," she added softly with wide eyes as if he was dense.  
"I hope you dream of nothing but candy and rainbows," she mumbled again to his back.  
She heard him growl and she took that as a sign that he had heard her.  
"You heard that alright, didn't you?" she murmured loudly as he slammed the door.   
Aletta couldn't help but giggle. 


	10. Romps and Threats

Chapter 9- Romps and Threats  
  
"Hey Weasley!" a snickering voice shouted from the door to the Potion's classroom. "How's your poverty-stricken self doing today?"  
"Shut up, Malfoy!" Hermione Granger shouted back as she and her two best friends approached the Potion's classroom.  
Draco Malfoy turned to the frizzy haired girl next to Ron and said, "Shut up, Mudblood." He wouldn't stop. "Damn Granger, you could play Lassie with that hair! And Weasley," he said turning to a red-faced Ron. "You eat cereal with a fork to save milk!"  
All of the Slytherins burst out laughing, as Ron blushed redder than his hair.   
The Boy-Who-Lived walked forward, "Shut your mouth before I knock so many teeth out of it the Tooth Fairy needs to make three round trips to collect them all.  
"Potty, your poor friend here doesn't have a pot to piss in or a window to throw it out of," Draco snarled  
Ron suddenly threw himself at Draco, thrusting his fist as hard as he could into his little, rat face. The students egged the fight on as Harry and Hermione tried to pull Ron back. Ron was about to punch Draco in the nose when he suddenly felt a strong pair of arms lift him off the beaten Slytherin. Malfoy's cronies rushed to their leader's side and started to help him up. Ron swerved around, ready to sock the intruder with one of his steel fists when he realized that it was the one professor he adored.   
"Hello, P-professor," he stuttered as a blood trickled from a deep gash in his lip, the only evidence that Malfoy had been fighting back.  
"Hello, Ron," she smiled. "May I ask who should be supervising you now?"  
"We're waiting for Professor Snape to arrive," Hermione interjected as Ron wiped his bloody lip on his robe sleeve.  
"But class commenced," she checked her watch, "five minutes ago. And I certainly did not perceive Professor Snape as a man of tardiness."  
The students shrugged as Draco and Ron continued to glare at each other with pure revulsion. Suddenly, a blonde girl standing in front of the door to the classroom shifted to the side. The other students followed suit.   
"Is there a problem?" a sleek, strident voice droned from behind her.   
Aletta shuddered slightly at his tone, but almost immediately regained her serenity. She felt his hot, soft breath on her neck, and she whirled around without any more delay. A pair of ebony, penetrating eyes stared right back at her. He was in his usual attire. Was I expecting anything different? Aletta asked herself humorously. A strand of his ebon, lustrous hair escaped its previous place behind his ear. Aletta instantly felt the urge to brush it back, but that same impulse vanished almost as quickly as it came. Her eyes had not left his for a second, and she was beginning to lose herself in those endless, black depths. One of the students coughed, presumably Harry since he was watching the whole interaction between the two professors, while the other students were directing their attention toward Ron and Draco. Aletta was shortly brought out of her reverie and back to Hogwarts. She then recalled his earlier question.  
"Yes, it seems that a couple of the students you were supposed to be supervising had gotten into a brawl," she said quickly as his eyes searched the crowd of students. "Fortunately, I was here to stop them. Ron was just about to shatter this young man," she motioned her head towards the lying form of Draco on the ground, "into pieces."  
The Gryffindors snickered as Snape's eyes flashed dangerously at Aletta.   
"I appreciate your assistance," he droned sarcastically as his eyes seemed to penetrate into her skull. "But I advise you to keep watch on your own students."  
"You were not present, Mr. Snape, and I felt the need to stop the battle that was going on between these two boys," she snapped as she began to lose her temper. "We can't have young boys biting each other's heads off, no? It would only result in the sacking of the professor who was in charge of them at the time of the fight."  
The students giggled again and Snape turned around to see that he and Aletta had an audience witnessing the whole argument. He wouldn't allow that.   
"Classroom, now!" he snarled as he briskly walked over to the door to unlock it.   
After he had opened it with a charm, he sent them in to start reading Chapter 50 of their Potion books. After the last student had shuffled inside the room, he slammed the door shut with an ear-splitting crack. Snape started to walk toward Aletta when he realized that Ron and Draco were still lying on the ground in pain.  
"Fifty points will be taken from your house, Weasley," he snapped. "For your inexcusable behavior."  
Ron glared at Snape as Draco smirked in delight. Aletta would take care of the little brat.   
"And fifty points will be taken from you, as well," she said coldly as she looked down upon Draco.  
"You do not have the authority to do that!" Snape shouted at her as she glared at him too.  
"I have as much jurisdiction as you do, Mr. Snap, and I'll use that warrant whenever I damn well please!"  
"Don't ridicule my name!" he barked haughtily as he approached her slowly.  
"Then don't criticize my prestige," she whispered as she found those familiar endless depths of his eyes. " That young man deserved a deduction of points as much as Ron did. You seem to regard highly of your own house, which is conspicuously wrong."  
Snape had her backed up against the stone cold wall. His orbs were on fire as he blazed them into her own. Aletta's heart started to beat so rapidly, she swore he could see it through her chest. And he almost gave proof to that as his gaze swept over her bust that was now rising and falling briskly. He was so close. Close enough to touch. Close enough to reach up and ki-  
"Impugning my teaching ways won't improve your own," he murmured entrancingly as he grazed his lips ever so gently across her forehead.  
It was not a kiss, but almost proved to be one if he didn't move back so suddenly. He brushed his hand through his hair as he glanced around him. Ron and Draco had gotten up a while ago to enter the classroom. They were essentially alone. His face showed nothing but fear. What if a student saw them, he thought. He turned his confused, desire-driven gaze on Aletta. She was still leaning against the wall, a look of bewilderment on her face as well.  
"Make sure this doesn't happen again," he snapped in a disturbed voice.  
Aletta was even more baffled. Did he mean the recent event, or the fact that she deducted points from the boy he obviously admired?  
"I don't understand," she said truly.   
"What isn't there to understand!" he shouted insanely. "You don't meddle in my students actions when they are under my supervision!"  
"You weren't here!" she yelled.  
Alrighty then, Aletta thought, that's enough. I know Mama said to control my temper but this has got to be worthy enough for a good rage.  
"And if you think you can march down here and tell me I can't deduct points from a certain student because of some foolish favoritism, than you gotta another thing coming, Snape!"  
Snape looked like he was going to explode, "One more crack like that and your out of here, do you understand me?" he warned as he approached her with his finger pointed at her menacingly.   
"What are you going to do, ya pansy!" she yelled. "Fire me?"  
"I, unfortunately do not hold that happy power," he growled. "But I know the man that does! You're his niece, and I'm sure that you prance around here, doing what you damn well please because you think that your uncle will allow you to!"  
"Severus," a soft, voice said behind him. "That's enough."  
Snape turned around to see his fatherly figure, his eyes twinkling like star fire.   
"You two," he commanded, "in my office, now."  
Aletta and Severus followed their dominator in fear. Like little children, they kept throwing each other glares of hatred as they followed Dumbledore to his office. 


	11. A Propositon

A Proposition  
  
"Headmaster, I must return to my class," Snape's voice demanded from behind the old man as they headed toward his office.  
"Argus is already headed down to attend to them," Albus informed lightly as he ascended the staircase to the next floor. "Aletta, you have no class at the moment, correct?"  
"Yes, this is my free time for the day," she said as Snape turned his head to glare at her once again. "Will you stop doing that!"  
Severus glared at her even more, if that was possible, and his eyes looked incredibly unnerving, "I am not doing anything!"  
"Children!" Dumbledore said a little louder than usual from ahead of them. "Please try to behave yourselves."  
Snape growled at being called a child and sped up so he was next to Dumbledore and as far away from Aletta as he could get. Aletta helped increase his distance from her by slowing down her pace.  
They had soon arrived the statue of a gargoyle and Albus exclaimed his password to it, "Pop rocks!"  
Severus rolled his eyes as Aletta giggled at her uncle's new password.  
"I take it you enjoyed the candy I brought to you?" Aletta asked as the trio walked up the staircase to Dumbledore's massive office.   
"Yes, very much so," he said gleefully as he walked over to his desk to sit down.  
Aletta peered around at the office she had only once been in. Fawkes, Albus' phoenix, was sleeping peacefully on his perch while little planets and orbs zoomed in every direction along the ceiling. The walls were swathed with bookshelves crammed with Muggle books, Wizarding books, and books in all different languages. Next to her uncle's desk stood a huge globe that revolved magically.  
"You two may sit down," Albus said as he gestured toward a couple of chairs in front of his desk.  
Snape took his seat swiftly with a sort of cat-like approach from his previous standpoint next to Fawkes. Aletta sat down slowly, trying not to turn and look at Snape, whose narrowed slits of onyx were now penetrating into her skull. Dumbledore seemed to notice the tension between the two and spoke into the silence.  
"I presume that you both are wondering why you are here," Albus said as he scrutinized his two employees. They both nodded and Albus nodded in response.   
"Then I suspect that it is my duty to enlighten you," he added as he chuckled at Aletta's perplexed expression. Severus, on the other hand, was quite reserved and composed. He was used to this sort of thing. The war had caused him to have frequent visits to this office in order to receive important information. It had made his job as a spy a trifle easier. And most of the time, he was the one informing Albus about Voldemort's plans. But the war was over, and Severus had not seen Albus this grave. Sure, he was chuckling and smiling. But his eyes had no hint of happiness at all.   
While Severus was pondering these notions, Albus had stood up to meander over to Fawkes, who was now awake and twittering softly. He started to stroke the phoenix's multihued feathers gently, and it seemed to purr contentedly like a cat.   
"I am fortunate that I found you two bickering in the corridor," Albus continued as Snape glared even more at his last comment. "However, I did not bring you two here to punish you both with a slap on the hand for a little brawl."  
"We were not brawling, Headmaster," Snape snapped defensively and Aletta couldn't help but let out a small cluck.  
"The hell we weren't!" Aletta exclaimed sarcastically as she pivoted her head to glower at him.   
"We were not-,"  
"Silence!" Dumbledore shouted quietly over the squabbling professors as Fawkes squawked. "Please, I beg of you, just settle down before any one of us dies!"  
The two shut up immediately. When the Headmaster had that tone of voice, which was not very often, it meant to stifle yourself and listen. Neither of the two even opened their mouths to apologize.  
"Thank you," Albus said with gratitude. "As I said before, I do not have any vast concerns about your last quarrel, except that I wish for you two to behave like professionals and not children. Professors are to act as role models for the students as well as teach them."  
Snape grunted and Aletta apologized in reply. Albus strolled over to his desk chair and sat down.  
"Although, I do have a colossal fear for one of our students. It seems that one has had the Memoria Curse cast upon him."  
Aletta's eyes squinted in wonderment as Severus stood up to pace the room.   
"Impossible!" Severus snapped as he turned to face Dumbledore. "No student would be able to perform such a dark spell!"  
"Which means that it must have been a Death Eater, Severus," Albus said gently as he watched the infuriated man start to pace the room once again.  
As Severus speeded back and forth, thinking of a possible curser of the student, Aletta asked her uncle, "And what, per say, is a Memoria Curse?"  
Before Albus could answer, Severus swept over to her in a matter of seconds and snarled, "You are a professor that teaches how to defend against the Dark Arts and you have the impudence to ask what a Memoria Curse is? But then again, why am I so surprised?"  
"And yet you still have the nerve to insult the Headmaster's great niece right in front of him? Bravo, Mr. Snape. Bravo!" Aletta shouted at him as she stood up to her full height.   
The two glared at each other, looking as though they were about to kill each other with their evil stares.   
Albus walked over between them. "I am afraid I was mistaken about you two."  
Both professors stopped their stare of death and looked at their mentor.   
"Ron Weasley is in the infirmary now, his memory is gone and may never return. I was hoping that I could count on both of you to fetch the ingredients for the potion that could revive him. Seeing as you two can't stand to even be in the same room together, I am afraid that I will have to fetch some other professionals that can actually communicate with each other."  
Albus walked from between them and toward his office door. Both of the professors looked at each other, but not with hatred. Severus had a thoughtful look while Aletta smiled sadly at him. Severus felt his heart leap with excitement. She sure knew how to make his organs do awkward things. Hell, she probably didn't even think he had a heart. Severus knew that he wanted to get along with her deep inside, but his exterior just wouldn't allow him. She would enter a room, and his stomach would do flips until he felt he couldn't hold his composure anymore. Why was it that only seconds ago he felt like strangling her . . . and now he just felt like holding her. It was an embarrassing feeling. But mostly, it was time to apologize, he thought, for Albus and . . . for my heart.   
"Albus?" Severus murmured at the old man that was just about to exit his office.   
Albus turned around and his eyes glittered maddeningly, "Yes, Severus?"  
"I'll -," Severus cleared his throat. "I'll do it."  
Aletta smiled at him and the corner of Severus mouth twitched up ever so slightly.   
"That is if you still want to come with me?" he asked her thoughtfully, but not exactly kindly.  
Aletta was secretly screaming "YES!" over and over again. Only seconds ago she was ready to sink her fist into his overly large nose. She knew she found this cynical man attractive. And he had almost smiled at her. She found herself beginning to actually like him. Before it was, well, his looks. Now he seemed even more beautiful.  
"Of course," she whispered as she looked deep into his striking, black eyes.  
"Excellent!" Albus cried exuberantly. "Harry and Hermione will be thrilled!"  
Severus' eyes darkened and Aletta frowned. She guessed that it was the mention of either Harry or Hermione's name.   
"Oh, what rotten luck!" Albus said. "I had you two miss dinner. And, actually, so have I," he chuckled. "It is just about at the end of the feast, so I will appear and explain everything before the students and faculty retire for the night. You two, however, may head down to the kitchen and grab some food there."  
Without another word spoken, Albus left, leaving the two professors uncomfortably alone.  
I have a question, is anybody reading this? I might remove it. 


	12. Crushed Butterfly

Chapter 12- Crushed Butterfly  
  
Severus gazed at Aletta as she ventured over to the couch that was in front of the blazing fire. She lounged in it with her head back on the arm. Severus couldn't help but let his gaze travel downward from her angelic face to her lengthy legs. He could tell that her breathing was irregular as the rise and fall of her chest quivered as she exhaled. Severus, ashamedly, found the sight of her to be quite thought provoking. He knew that her head was probably squirming with questions and thoughts. He knew his was, being alone in a room with a gorgeous woman. He studied her for a matter of seconds before he walked over to her so he could sit in the chair next to the sofa. She heard the click of his shoes against the floor and her heart beat even more rapidly.   
"What are you thinking about?"   
His deep, sensual voice reverberated throughout the room and she shivered involuntarily. He saw her and smirked to himself. Aletta opened her eyes and sat up to face him. She found him to be lounged back in the chair, the fire making his eyes glitter like black stars. The way he was looking at her made her think that he was going to jump on her and ravish her with blissful kisses. Though she wouldn't disapprove. Aletta flushed suddenly at her wicked mind and looked away from his intimidating form.   
"Hogwarts, it's history," she shrugged as she felt the cool touch of his eyes.  
A shiver danced over her skin as she wished she had never met him, or been momentarily entranced by his arrogant harshly handsome looks.   
"Really?" was the aloofly disbelieving reply as he moved over to sit next to her.   
Severus turned to partially face her. The onyx glitter of his gaze shimmered over the gold of Aletta's hair, burnished by the fire. His arm stretched negligently on the back of the sofa, his hand only spare inches from her head. Aletta tensed slightly, reacting to the latent animal instinct that warned her to tread lightly.  
"I thought you might be thinking of some tactic to maneuver me to anger." His voice was low and cynical.  
"Maneuver?" Aletta swallowed. Her lashes fluttered, a gold brown fringe above deepening metallic eyes.  
"Isn't that what you've been doing since we met?" The softly dangerous tone dared her to deny it.   
"I don't know what you mean," Aletta protested weakly. Her façade as an ingénue was being stripped away by his slicing gaze and she was helpless to stop it. "If you mean that all the times I had pissed you off? I have to admit that I have."  
What is up with him?, Aletta thought, He was nice before and now he's being scary. She decided to act like a dumb blonde. Two could play at that game.   
"Do you honestly expect me to believe you're as innocent as you appear?" Snape smiled coldly, his amusement secret and at her expense.  
Aletta almost snorted right there. He thinks I look innocent?, she thought, now he's just being crazy.  
"You're talking in circles." Aletta fluttered her lashes in uncertain confusion, tossing her head to the side in bewilderment. "I don't understand what you're saying."  
"Your act is very good, but intelligence has a way of letting itself be seen."  
"My act?" she repeated blankly as she tried not to laugh.  
Inside she knew she couldn't admit that there was any truth to his accusations. If she stopped playing the "dumb blonde" now, she would end up losing her temper and telling him exactly what she thought of his arrogant ways. That anger would not help them at all, although it would certainly release some of her own frustration.  
"Really, Mr. Snape, you just aren't making any sense." She stood up to leave and walked to the door. "I think it's about time for me to go get something to eat."  
She reached for the door handle. It was locked. For a poised instant, her eyes searched frantically for a release button but soon realized that it did not have one. She did not have her wand, so she unwillingly turned back to his mocking expression.   
"Would you please unlock the door?"  
Her request was met with silence and a complacent look. She lost her patience and walked over to him, sitting back in her spot to look for his wand on him and hex him before she unlocked the door. But she couldn't. Aletta nervously ran her tongue over her lower lip, a habit she had when she was anxious. The action focused his attention on her mouth.   
"How do butterflies steal the nectar from so many flowers and remain looking untouched?" His own mouth twisted cynically, not requiring a reply.  
Butterfly! The word shivered over her skin, goose bumps rising along the back of her neck. Only yesterday Aletta had told Professor Mcgonagall that her name means, "Butterfly". Coincidence? Or had Minerva told him? Or had some mysterious something passed between them, giving each the insight about the other?  
"Why . . .why did you say butterfly?" She had to ask the question, her voice breathless and at odds with the guileless expression.   
"Because," Snape answered slowly and arrogantly, "You are as beautiful, as fragile, and about as constant as a butterfly." It was a condemnation, not a compliment. Aletta suddenly realized what his impression of her was. A wench. He thought her a little wench that jumps from guy to guy. She wanted to slap him and push him away, but found she couldn't do that either. She knew he was just teasing her, intimidating her, probably hoping she will back off from their little quest. The back of a finger followed a strand of tawny gold hair brushed away from her face in its windblown style down the back of her neck. Aletta was pinned, like the butterfly he called her, by his coal-sharp gaze. "I've always wondered if the honey tastes sweeter from the lips of a butterfly."  
His hand cupped the back of her neck, fingers twisting into her hair, adding further pressure to draw Aletta toward him. Her hands spread across his taut chest in resistance.   
A soft, surprised, "No!" was offered in protest.   
A tug of her hair turned her face up to meet his descending mouth, a flash of cynical amusement in its hard line an instant before it captured her lips.  
Brutally harsh, he ravaged her mouth. There was a buzzing in her ears, hot fires of humiliation raced through her veins. In another second, Aletta felt, surely her neck would break under the force of his kiss.  
It was not the way a man would kiss a woman but the way a man would take his pleasure of a tramp, without a thought or a care to her feelings. But his strength was overpowering. Her struggles were only the useless flutterings of butterfly wings against iron bars.   
Beneath her doubled fists straining against his chest, she could feel the steady beating of his heart. Her own was hammering like a mad thing. The bruising kiss was sapping all her strength, taking it from her as if it was nectar from a flower. She had to dredge the very depths of her reserves to keep from submitting weakly to his punishing embrace.   
Snape had attacked with the swiftness of an eagle swooping on its prey. With the same unexpectedness, he freed her mouth and relaxed the talon-hard grip on her neck, his fingers sliding to her fragile collarbone, capable of snapping it at the least provocation. Aletta's head sank wearily in defeat, her tousled golden hair cascading forward over in his hand to conceal the flaming humiliation in her cheeks.   
But she wasn't allowed the precious seconds to regain her whirling equilibrium and take the calming breaths of air. Her chin was captured between his thumb and forefinger and raised so Snape could inspect the extent of his conquest. Mirrored in his black eyes was her own flushed and resentful expression, nothing more.   
"Which of us is stronger, Miss. Dumbledore?" His lip curled in a derisive smile.  
"Physically you are!" she hissed, gray flames shooting from her eyes, but Snape was made of steel, not wood, and the fire harmlessly ricocheted over its target.  
The grooves around his mouth deepened. "Don't make the mistake of thinking it's only physical," he warned in a low voice.  
Releasing her completely, he was once again sitting strait up with his perfect posture unlike Aletta's. A movement of his hand into his robe and he retrieved his wand. With an "Alohamora" spell, the door made a comforting click.  
"Goodnight, Miss Dumbledore."  
Her knees trembled badly as she stood up from the couch and walked toward the door. His assault on her-it could hardly be termed an embrace-had shaken her more than she realized, but it hadn't broken her spirit. With the security of distance between them, she turned.  
"Don't you make the mistake of thinking that you can intimidate me so, Snape. I'm going to do everything I can to make certain you don't torment me during our little journey. And keep in mind that the only reason I am doing it is for Ron and for my uncle!" She hurled the glove of challenge, slammed the door and pivoted sharply down the stairs.   
For a few quaking steps, Aletta thought he might come after her. Unconsciously she held her breath, expelling it in a long sigh when she heard the nothing but silence in her wake. Those were bold words she had spoken, but she was determined to make them fact. 


	13. Insulting Fun and Compassion

Chapter 13- Insulting Fun and Compassion  
  
He is so dead, Aletta thought as she tickled the pear in a painting of fruit. It giggled and swung open to reveal an enormous kitchen with bustling house elves. Every one of them greeted her kindly and offered her something to eat and drink. She told them that a sandwich and a Coke would be pleasant. Aletta didn't want to trouble them in making her some fancy dinner since they seemed to already be incredibly busy with something else. What are they making anyway? she wondered. Aletta walked up to one of the house elves that seemed to be mixing up some sort of fudge chocolate.   
"What are you guys making?" she asked and the elf jumped causing the wooden spoon it was holding to plummet to the ground.   
Some of the chocolate splattered onto Aletta's shoes and the house elf looked horrified.   
"I is so sorry, Sir!" it squeaked. "Ploddy didn't mean to drop spoon and get chocolate on shoes!"   
"It's okay," Aletta said kindly. "It was my fault. I shouldn't have snuck up on you like that."  
The house elf, which Aletta surmised had the name Ploddy, bowed to her and wiped the chocolate off her shoe with it's tattered pillowcase that it wore. Aletta told him that he didn't need to do that but he wouldn't hear of it. As it dabbed her shoes with the cloth, it seemed to catch a glimpse of her pink socks. It seemed to admire them, as its eyes grew wide in awe.   
"Ploddy likes your socks, Sir," it peeped again. "They are nice color. Dobby, Sir, would like them too!"  
Aletta smiled at the elf and it seemed to blush.   
"Here you go, Miss," said another elf that approached her, the sandwich and Coke in its hands.  
Ploddy smiled at the other elf and whispered something in his ear before he trotted off to retrieve another spoon. The elf that Aletta did not know gave her a big toothy grin.  
"Ploddy says that you are as kind as Harry Potter," the elf squealed in its high-pitched voice, though not as shrill as Ploddy's.   
"Thank you," she said. "I think."  
The elf nodded and Aletta then noticed the bright green socks it had on. They were quite cute, yet a bit too flamboyant for her. On the sides it said "Elf Power!" written in gold. Hence, another reason why they wouldn't exactly suit her.  
"I like your socks," she said to make conversation.   
"Thank you, Miss. Hermione Granger gave them to me for Christmas last year!"   
Aletta laughed as she remembered Hermione telling her about her S.P.E.W club which was against elf slavery. She joined it, but she refused to wear the badge. Aletta could only imagine what people would think of her if she walked around wearing a badge that said "S.P.E.W". Hermione didn't mind since Aletta agreed to give 3 galleons to her club every month.   
The elf waddled over to a small wooden table by the fire and set her food down, "You can eat here!"  
Aletta expressed her gratitude and walked over to sit down. While she was nibbling at her sandwich, she suddenly noticed a shadow across the table wear the firelight had been flickering. She knew someone was standing behind her but before she had a chance to look up she heard his voice.  
"Enjoying yourself?"  
Aletta jumped and cursed loudly. She didn't know why since she had already known he was there. Maybe it was just his voice that startled her.  
"I was!" she hissed as she threw down her sandwich on the plate so she could sip her Coke.  
Aletta made it clear in her tone that she wasn't very keen on seeing him. Snape walked over to the chair across from her and sat down.   
"What day is it, arsehole day?" she snapped at him. " And if I remember correctly, I don't recollect asking you to join me."  
Aletta stood up, leaving her unfinished food and Coke on the table as he walked over to a cabinet full of chocolate. Might as well get my dessert while he's here, she thought, all the better to be distanced from him. She climbed the ladder and steadied herself as she reached up to get a candy bar. In the next second, she felt herself falling. Her wrist was seized in a vice grip and she was yanked into a masculine chest that held her firmly against his taut muscles. Her legs were momentarily too numb, from sitting down for a long period of time, to support her. She sought to steady herself against his chest with her free hand. Aletta stumbled heavily against him, her heart lurching as she came against the solid wall of muscle. His arm automatically released her wrist and circled her waist to catch her, taking her full weight as if it were no more than a child's.   
The suddenness of the forced movement had thrown her head back, her stunned gaze staring into his narrowed eyes darkened like turbulent thunderclouds. She shuddered at the anger contained within.   
"And if I remember correctly, Miss. Dumbledore, I don't remember you ordering me to leave." Thunder growled threateningly in his voice. "And you'd better have a damned good explanation for calling me an arsehole!"  
His strong male scent was all around Aletta, filling her senses to the exclusion of everything but his nearness. It seemed to take all her strength to look away from the compelling features so close to her own and focus on the chocolate bar on the ground.   
"Okay then, I order you to leave," she inserted breathlessly.   
Aletta was cast away from him, sagging limply against the wall like a rag doll as Snape turned to walk toward the table. He sat down with his cat-like grace and gestured her with his hand to come over and join him. Aletta stood up, her knees still feeling like Jell-O as she walked lazily over to the chair across from him. She collapsed into it and set the candy bar down on the table as she picked her Coke up with the other hand to swallow the rest of it down. Snape regarded her with his irate eyes and retrieved his wand from his robe pocket. Aletta flinched and held her breath until she heard him cast a spell on a bottle of wine that was sitting on one of the counters. It flew into his outstretched hand as well as a goblet he had also charmed. Aletta watched his graceful hands pop open the bottle of Port and pour it into the goblet. Well, so much for him leaving, she thought. Snape lifted the goblet to his thin lips and gulped what seemed like half of the alcohol. He set it down, unmoved by the tanginess of the wine. Aletta suddenly thought of their previous kiss and remembered how his lips had felt against her own. She noted how they had felt incredibly soft and plump, not thin and rigid like they looked. She felt her heart skip a beat as she wondered what it would be like to have him really kiss her, not a punishing kiss like he had given her earlier. She had too admit, that rough kiss was actually quite unpleasant.  
"What are you thinking about?" he mimicked from earlier.   
Aletta glanced up into his mocking appearance that was enhanced by the firelight, and said defensively, "Oh no! Don't you dare start that again!"  
Snape narrowed his eyes at her and all she could see was slits of black, "I am not 'starting' anything. I would just simply like to know what you are thinking."  
He leaned back in his chair, feeling undefeated as Aletta's mouth gaped open at his provoking attitude.  
"You are extremely nosy, and in more ways then one," she yelled as he sat up strait again to acknowledge her previous insult.  
"Now, now," he taunted. "You really must think of something intelligent to say, or at least plausible. And there is nothing wrong with my nose."  
"Are you always this contrary, or are you making a special effort today?" she asked not wanting a reply as he chuckled deeply in amusement. "Now will you please tell me why you chose to come here and annoy me?"  
"Ah, you are now starting to sound reasonable," he mocked and his eyes glinted with amusement, "which means that it is time to increase my medication."  
"I refuse to enter into a battle of wits with you!" Aletta sneered with a smile as he chuckled even more. " It's against my moral code to attack an unarmed person."  
Snape gazed at her as he rubbed his chin thoughtfully, a smirk curved on his lips that actually made him look really handsome. Aletta suddenly had an urge to know if he did that frequently. She knew it was probably because he was thinking of something evil to say.  
"I'd like to see things from your point of view but I can't seem to get my head that far up my arse," Snape said as he chuckled even more.  
Yep, she thought, that was evil. A bit too evil.  
Trying very hard not to laugh Aletta shot back, "I do understand you - I seem to have a way with dumb animals."  
That did it. They both erupted into rages of laughter. Aletta now saw that he had a full smile plastered on his face, plus he was laughing as well. Does he do that frequently, she thought. Aletta felt a tingle in her stomach as she mused on how wonderful it would be if she was the only one that could get him to laugh like so. Heck, she'd feel great if she was the reason why he was smiling so handsomely. Aletta was actually enjoying herself, and so was Snape. After their laughter had died down, they started to discuss issues of the school. After that they spoke of their past, but mostly Aletta did. Snape tried to ignore that subject on his part, but he enjoyed listening to her amusing stories. Aletta had even told him of her friends back in her hometown. He especially liked her story about her friend Maya who had a cat that fell down the stairs in a Pier One bag. Aletta had explained what Pier One was. Severus didn't talk much about himself, even though Aletta begged him to tell her of his childhood, friends, and family. He frowned as he thought of his family. Compared to Aletta's, he didn't even have one. But he tried not to think of that while he listened intently to her experience with Potions. He laughed when she told him how her specialty in potion making is cough syrup. He even offered to teach her how to brew a Giggling Potion. Snape wasn't really fond of it, but he knew Aletta would probably love to use it on someone. He preferred the potions that caused pain. As they chatted, Snape wondered why he was so fascinated with her. Well, lets see, he told himself, she's intelligent, sexy, kind, and funny as hell. He never realized that he would have so much fun with a comedian. His past dates usually had no sense of humor at all. Wait, he thought, why am I comparing her to the women I have dated. Snape decided to ignore that thought. But overall they were getting along, and getting pleasure from it.   
"So, what did you come down here for?" Aletta asked later as they both lounged on the chairs in front of the fire, the house elves long gone since it was one in the morning.  
Snape looked at her with his glittering eyes full of satisfaction and contentment. He looked incredibly relaxed but was not drunk or even tipsy. Aletta seemed to be unaffected by the large consummation of Port, as well.  
"Well," Snape said as he poured himself more wine. "I was going to enlighten you on our little quest. But more on the lines of what the Memoria curse is."  
"I see," she said as she leaned over the chair to pick up her glass of Port.  
Aletta then suddenly flipped over the chair she was sitting on and landed right on her back. She giggled uncontrollably as Snape stood up to help her up. He grabbed her arms and pulled her up. She collapsed into his chest and she moved her face up to nestle in his neck. Aletta was, once again, mesmerized by his beautiful scent. Snape felt uncomfortable by the embrace, but couldn't push her away. He was too mesmerized himself by the way her body molded into his perfectly. Snape felt the movement under his head as she looked up at him.   
"Why did you kiss me earlier?" she whispered, finding herself lost in his eyes.  
"Because," he started as he too looked at her, "I needed a way to punish you."  
"What did I do to you?" she asked with a child-like pout.  
"You embarrassed me in front of my students," he murmured. "And no one gets away with that without a good thrashing."  
Aletta laughed and before she could stop herself she said sensually, "Well then, maybe I should embarrass you more often!"  
Snape smiled down at her and droned, "Perhaps."  
Aletta became aware of their position and stepped out of his arms. Snape cleared his throat while Aletta gazed around to look for her goblet. When she found it, she picked it up and pivoted to look at Severus who was now seated back in his chair.  
"More wine?" he asked as she studied his alluring position.  
"Oh, no thank you," she said quickly as she drew her gaze away from him and toward the kitchen table. "I was just going to put this on the table."   
After she had retrieved from the kitchen table, she sat down in the other chair and rested her chin on her hand while she gazed into the fire.  
"The Memoria Curse is a curse that only the darkest wizards can perform," Snape droned as he too lost his gaze in the flickering flames of the fire. "It is exactly like the memory charm, except that the person who has been cursed is not able to recover with a spell and it won't wear off after a long period of time."  
"So the only way to revive Ron is with a potion," Aletta figured as she turned to look into onyx eyes that flickered with the reflection of the flames.  
"Yes," he said quietly. "And do you know why Dumbledore chose us?" he asked as he turned to look at her.  
Aletta shook her head and he sighed, "Neither do I," and he turned his attention back to the fire.  
She laughed quietly and also turned back to the fire, "What does the potion consist of that we can't pick up at an Apothecary?"  
"The petals of a Tein, the roots of a Silindu, and the venom of a Selimare," he stated as he picked of his goblet to down the rest of his Port.  
"Why would such a deadly venom be required?" she asked bewildered.  
"That is what the Tein petals are used for. A certain compound in the Tein is powerful enough to kill off the fatal chemicals in the venom. When you bring the two to a simmer, the reaction occurs, which leaves the beneficial chemicals of the venom."  
Aletta admired his knowledge of Potions. Especially when he talked about them. His voice could make the simplest of words sound like something sexual.   
"Where are the recourses found?" she asked with interest as she turned to look at him again.  
She found him to be looking back at her, "Deep in the Dark Forest," he replied, "where wands have no purpose."  
Aletta gasped, "You mean we won't even be able to use our wands!"   
"For the first few days we will be close enough to the outside where our wands will indeed work. But once we reach the Dume Zone of the forest, all we can rely on is ourselves."  
"Why don't wands work in the Dume Zone?" she asked as she let her eyes wonder down to his chest, remembering how strong and taut it had felt under her hands.  
"That, we are not sure of. Research is still being done to figure out the mystery."  
Aletta nodded and moved her gaze lower until they rested on a nice-sized bulge. She smiled appreciatively and then blushed when she realized what exactly she was doing. Her eyes left that spot immediately and she looked back at him. Snape had a content smirk on his face while he watched her uneasiness.   
"Was I that foolish to not know of the Memoria Curse?" she asked ashamedly as she moved her gaze back to the fire.  
Severus knew she was referring to when he yelled at her for not knowing of the curse. He suddenly felt a pang of guilt. Who was he to say that to her. Hell, the first time he was told about it was just last year.  
"It is not a well-known curse at all," he reassured. "And I apologize about what I said earlier. You are a very intelligent, beautiful woman. And if anyone says otherwise, including me, than they are fool."  
Aletta blushed a deep red and smiled at him. Truly smiled at him.  
"If I'm not mistaken . . .I believe that was a compliment you just gave me," she said quietly as his eyes lingered on her.  
"Indeed," he drawled. "And I believe that I just called myself a fool, considering earlier today. Though I can assure you that I need not bother to insult myself again."  
"Thank you Severus," Aletta said gratefully, moved by his sudden compassion.  
"It's getting late," he said as he glanced at the clock over the fireplace. "Or rather, it already is late."  
Aletta looked at the clock too and yawned when she saw that it was three, "Thank God tomorrow is Saturday."  
Snape nodded and murmured, "You should get some sleep."  
"Yeah," Aletta agreed as she stood up and stretched.  
Snape's eyes roamed her whole body appreciatively before he returned his gaze to her face. Aletta smiled at him and said, "Well, thanks for everything."  
Snape nodded and said, "I enjoyed myself as well, Miss. Dumbledore."  
She smiled even wider and walked the exit, "Aren't you-?" she asked slowly before he interrupted her.  
"Soon," he said as he grinned. "I think I'll first roam the halls and see if there are any students out past curfew. I feel up to the task of deducting points."  
Aletta laughed and said, "Well, goodnight. I'll see you at breakfast."  
Severus nodded and she approached the door slowly, looking as though she didn't want to leave him. And before she did, Aletta turned around to look at the handsome man lounging on the couch.  
"One more thing," she said quietly. "You can call me Aletta."  
Severus smiled with pride and said, "I would ask you to call me Severus, but it seems you have already taken the liberty to."  
"Sorry," Aletta apologized, uncharacteristically bashful.  
"Not at all," Severus droned in his deep, sensual voice.  
Aletta yawned again and bid him goodnight before she headed off to bed. He supposed that she was probably very tired. A good night's sleep. Something sweet he remembered from long ago.  
Is anybody reading this still? I'm sorry. I'm so paranoid! I really don't think I'll continue . . . until you click that damn purple button! Mwhahahah 


	14. I Don't Know How

Chapter 14- I Don't Know How  
  
She can kill with her smile, she can warm with her eyes   
And she can ruin your faith with her casual lies   
And she only reviews what she wants you to see   
She hides like a child but she's always a woman to me   
She can lead you to love she can take you or leave you   
She can ask for the truth but she'll never believe you  
And she'll take what you give her as long as it's free   
Yeah she steals like a thief but she's always a woman to me   
Oh she takes care of herself she can wait if she wants   
She's ahead of her time oh and she never gives out   
And she never gives in she just changes her mind   
And she'll promise you more than the Garden of Eden   
And she'll cut you and laugh while you're bleeding   
But she'll bring out the best and the worst you can be   
Blame it all on yourself cause she's always a woman to me   
hmm...   
oh she takes care of herself she can wait if she wants   
She's ahead of her time oh and she never gives out   
And she never gives in she just changes her mind   
She's frequently kind and she's suddenly cool   
And she can do as she pleases she's nobody's fool   
And she can't be convicted she's earn her degrees   
And the most she would do is draw shadows and know that   
She's always a woman to me   
hmm...  
  
-She's Always A Woman To Me, Billy Joel  
  
"Dammit!" Raine Trinity cursed loudly as she sliced her finger with the knife.  
"Five points from Ravenclaw, Miss. Trinity," Snape strummed from his desk as he slashed a big red mark on the paper he was grading.  
Blood trickled down her finger as she ceased from chopping the dried caterpillars on her desk. Raine was about ready to throw the chopped up insect pieces in Snape's greasy face! She was pissed at everybody today. Especially Draco Malfoy. And now Snape had to deduct points from her house to make the matter worse. Draco's irritatingly handsome face smirked at her as she stood to show Snape her wound. As she passed Draco's desk at the front of the room, she swore she heard him murmur her name to one of those fat friends of his. She stopped walking and turned to him.   
"Hello, Mudblood," he drawled quietly so Snape couldn't hear him.  
"How many times do I have to tell you!" she snarled. "I am not a mudblood!"  
"Ten points from Ravenclaw, Miss Trinity," Snape said without glancing up from his paper work.  
Can that greasy git do anything else except deduct points? she asked herself as her fellow Ravenclaws glared at her.   
Draco coughed to get Raine's attention. "Your muddy blood is contaminating the floor."  
Raine suddenly whipped out her wand and yelled, "Goosempra!"  
Before Draco could duck, he was instantly turned in to a goose. Draco the goose flopped to the ground and he honked loudly. He flew up and perched on the desk, his eyes ablaze with fury. The students snickered uncontrollably as Snape's attention was now brought to the scene before him.  
"Detention, Miss Trinity!" he snarled as he stood to undo the spell.  
When Draco was brought from his goose state, he yelled, "Mudblood bitch!"  
The Slytherins snickered, but stopped when Snape also gave him detention. Raine smirked as Draco gave her a look of pure hatred.  
"And get yourself up to the Infirmary," Snape snapped at Raine as he distinguished her bloody finger. "We don't need you vitiating the classroom!"  
Raine left swiftly without another backward glance. She was glad to be away from Draco and Snape. As she made her way down the corridor, she saw Aletta making her way toward her. Aletta was not dressed in her usual attire. Instead of black robes she was in bright green, velvet ones.  
"Where are you supposed to be, Raine?" she asked gently as she stopped in front of Raine.  
Raine was just about to tell her when Aletta had conspicuously seen her cut. "Potions, I take it?"  
She nodded and Aletta amusingly grumbled something obscene about Snape. Raine suppressed a snort as Aletta walked toward the Potions classroom. When she reached the door, she gesticulated Raine to follow her back inside. When they entered, Snape peeked up from his work and failed to see Aletta.  
"I thought I told you to go-" he stopped mid-sentence when he did detect her. "Are you in need of something, Aletta?"  
Damn, Aletta thought, I caught him in a pissy mood. "Well, I saw Raine did not have an escort to the Infirmary. You do know that injured students need to be brought to Madame Pomfrey by a professor?"  
Snape scowled at Aletta and deftly swept himself from his desk. He advanced on the two females with an almost dire type of stride.   
"Are you presuming to tell me that I'm not aware of how to do my job?" he asked menacingly as he backed Aletta out into the corridor.  
Raine followed, assuming that she was supposed to.   
"Because I can guarantee you," he whispered dangerously as he backed her up against the stone cold wall, "that I know exactly what I am doing."  
"Oh, but of course," Aletta joked as she felt her heart race. "Though I don't fathom why you would send her up to the Infirmary for that sort of scrape when you are bound to have a potion that can treat it."  
"Now hear this, Miss Dumbledore," he sneered quietly as he leaned even closer to her. "I will not be spoken to that way! You know very well that I do not have the time nor the patience to attend to such a wound! Now . . . I have a class to teach and students to attend to, so if you don't mind, I think it is time for you to take your ignorance elsewhere!"  
Aletta was torn between confusion and fury, which made her feel a strange sense of vertigo. He could be such a sweet gentleman one day, and the next he'll turn into a complete bastard. This is just too much, Aletta thought, I can't deal with this man. Her eyes traveled from his chest to his dark, heartless eyes. She saw not the man that she conversed with last night, but the same cynical man that she met the first day she came to Hogwarts.  
"Then perhaps I should back out of our little voyage," she started calmly and slowly as her eyes searched his. "That is what you wanted all along, isn't it?" she turned to Raine and added, "Come, Miss Trinity. I believe you have a cut that needs attending to."  
Raine breathed deeply, for she had almost held her breath during the professors' little disagreement. She was baffled by the way these two professors communicated. Her dark emerald eyes met Aletta's briefly before she started off down the corridor. Aletta followed but halted when she heard Severus' voice call to her.  
"No Aletta," he said quietly. "I don't want that anymore."  
She turned to look at him. He almost seemed apologetic, but only his eyes did. Severus still had on his impassive expression. Severus didn't know what was happening to him. Just the way she had looked at him made him feel . . . rotten. He never felt remorse for the cruel things he had said in the past, nor cared if it hurt the person he said it to. But this woman . . . this inconceivable woman could make him do anything she wanted him to. He hated to admit it to himself  
"Then what do you want, Professor?"  
Snape approached her until his body was inches from hers. He hesitated, but took her hand in his. Looking down at their entwined fingers he murmured, "I want you . . ." he started but paused. This caused Aletta to blush furiously. Severus realized he hadn't finished his sentence and added quickly, "to come with me."  
Aletta smiled and squeezed his hand, "Very well."  
He rapidly let go of her hand and drawled, "I know this is quite sudden, but tomorrow is when we take our leave. Unfortunately, Albus has planned a 'Going Away Party" so to speak."  
Aletta giggled as he rolled his eyes at the thought of the gathering, "Yes, I know. My friend who will be taking over my classes is attending it."  
Severus nodded and heard a loud crash from inside the classroom. He growled and swept off without another word. Aletta heard him chastising the poor culprit.  
"Uh, can we go now?" Raine asked, the impatience clear in her voice.  
She nodded and rushed Raine to the Infirmary. Madame Pomfrey was very displeased with Aletta for bringing Raine so late. She didn't feel like explaining why she was tardy to such an uptight nurse. After Aletta had bid farewell to Raine, she headed off to her quarters. She had quite a bit to do before the party came.  
  
* * *  
  
"MAYA!" Aletta yelled excitedly.   
Aletta ran down the steps in her yellow flowered dress to greet the strawberry-blonde beauty at the Hogwarts gates. The green-eyed girl grinned and sped up to meet her best friend.   
"Hey, bitch!" Aletta joked as she finally reached Maya.   
"That again?" Maya laughed as she hugged Aletta.   
Aletta laughed and took some of Maya's luggage. "Well, the party's in a half and hour. Did you want to go get ready?"  
"Sure," Maya agreed as they walked up the path together.  
The two females were three steps into the hallway leading to the dungeon stairs when Aletta heard the approach of footsteps behind them, and her muscles stiffened automatically. It had to be Severus. She had no idea were he was before, but with his cat-soft way of walking she knew it was him.   
The desire was there to pretend she didn't hear the firm strides of the man walking behind them. She might have ignored them if she hadn't seen Maya glancing over her shoulder. There was no choice except for Aletta to do the same.  
No ebony-black eyes met the sparkling challenge of hers. Instead she saw the darker softness of Sirius Black's gazing warmly at the now halted Maya. Relief shuddered through her. It wasn't a welcome reaction. She wanted to be more poised and in command than this when she met Snape face to face.  
"May you introduce me to your beautiful friend, Aletta?" he asked smoothly as he gazed at Maya, clearly appreciating what he saw.  
"Maya, this is Sirius Black," Aletta introduced, but explained about him when she saw the question in Maya's eyes. "His name was cleared, as you know. And the reason he is here, is to take over Professor Snape's classes."  
Maya gave the handsome, black-haired man a small smile and outstretched her hand, "I'm Maya Claire. A friend of Aletta's."  
Sirius willingly accepted her hand, but instead of shaking it, he brought it to his soft lips and pecked it gently. "The pleasure is all mine, Miss Claire."  
"Call me Maya," she said, as her cheeks blushed to a light pink.  
Sirius gave her one of his dashing smiles and nodded his head before he continued down the corridor. Maya reached up to tuck a strand of her hair, which had fallen loose, behind her ear.   
"He's . . .," she murmured as she walked on down into the dungeon with Aletta, "cute."  
"Yeah right!" Aletta mocked. "Considering the fact that you were practically drooling!"  
"I was not!" Maya protested loudly until she saw the knowing look in Aletta's eyes. "Okay . . .maybe I was a little bit."  
And with that they both laughed and joked until they finally reached Aletta's quarters.  
  
* * *  
  
Aletta sat at the mini bar in the Great Hall, swiveling the martini she was holding around and around. As of now, the glittering substance in her glass was her only entertainment. Parties were never something she would consider a fun time. This party had started an hour ago, and already she was losing her interest in the dancing and merry conversing between the guests. Arthur and Molly Weasley had chosen to join the little hullabaloo, though they were understandably grave. Aletta couldn't tax them. How else were you supposed to be happy when you knew you had a son up in the hospital wing asking what his name was? The Weasley's sadness made Aletta's determination boost a good deal. Her thoughts of the family were disturbed as someone sat next to her.  
"A whiskey on the rocks," His silky voice made her feel like drinking it, just so she could get a taste of heaven.  
"Right away, Mr. Snape!" an elf on the other side of the bar squeaked, as he elicited a whiskey bottle from the shelves below the table.  
In less than a minute, Snape's small glass of liquor was placed before him. He took a generous swig of it before he turned his dark gaze to her. She didn't return the gaze and downed the rest of her white chocolate martini. The two future adventurers sat in silence. The music, which had been a fast rock song, had now switched to a slow jazzy one. The sound of slow jazz always comforted Aletta, especially the song on now which was called "Sweet Pea" by Miles Davis.  
"If I'm ever forced to choose a favorite kind of music, it would be jazz."  
Aletta jumped slightly and turned to smile at his handsome self. She noted that he looked markedly handsome tonight. She didn't know why, since he was wearing his usual attire. Maybe it was the way the candlelight brought out his chiseled, drop-dead beautiful features. Or the way his sophisticated, aquiline nose made him seem so labyrinthine and anointed. Or, perhaps, the way he was smirking at her right now because of her display of staring at his natural, dark beauty.  
"Miss Dumbledore, I know my nose is unusually colossal, but I don't think gawking at it will make it taper off."  
Aletta quickly averted her gaze to her empty martini glass. "Sorry. I wasn't staring at it. I . . . suppose I'm just a little dazed and disoriented tonight."  
Snape's arched an eyebrow and purred sarcastically, "I conjectured you were a woman that would enjoy mentally incompetent parties such as this one. Though judging by your jaded, cloyed expression and your absence from the exciting festivities around you, I'd say not."  
"That's for sure." Aletta laughed.  
"Then I am no different from you, Miss Dumbledore," He replied softly as his glittering black eyes examined her angelic features. "The Headmaster has a soiree for the staff every month, which I unfortunately, cannot avoid."  
"He forces you to attend?" Aletta asked baffled as she licked her finger and started to ring it around the rim of her crystal glass.  
"Not physically or verbally, of course," he replied as he started to become annoyed at the loud ring that was now sounding from her glass. "But how he does impel me to go, I am still pondering."  
"Maybe it's because he's such a kind man, that you can't even stop yourself from giving him his every wish," she said, knowing how her uncle had always done the same thing to her.   
"Perhaps," he replied, thankful that she had now desisted in the glass ringing.  
Snape marveled at how dazzling she was. Her moves, her speech . . . heavens, her body! She was in a white dress that hugged her curves and voluptuous, bosom beautifully. The dress reached down to just above her knees and was strapless, which accentuated her tan shoulders beautifully. Driven by his own lust for her, he did the unthinkable.  
"Would you care to dance?"  
Aletta turned to him, surprised that he would even consider dancing at such a public gathering. She could tell that he now regretted what he had asked.  
"Never mind," he murmured quickly as he downed the rest of his whiskey. "I'm sorry-"  
"I would love to," Aletta replied quietly as she set down her martini glass to stand. When she stood, she offered her hand to him.  
"A lady should not offer her hand to a gentleman," Snape said quietly as he stood without taking her hand.  
"I'll remember that when I come across one," she shot back softly, and he chuckled deeply as she took his hand and pulled him out onto the dance floor.  
Snape held both of her hands and swayed back and forth gently at first. Aletta giggled, took his left hand, and placed it on the small of her bare, soft back. He kept his right hand in hers and they started to slowly sway to and fro with the soft jazz. After about five minutes of dancing, Aletta gained the bravery to lean her head and gently rest it against his shoulder. The music and his touch made her lose herself completely. His musky, male scent didn't help either. The song lazed on, and Aletta became even more entranced by the man she was holding on to.   
"Are you frightened?" his silky, deep voice whispered in her ear.  
Aletta took her head off his shoulder and looked up into his endless, starry eyes. "Of what?"  
"Tomorrow?" he said as he held her tighter to his taut chest.  
Aletta gazed at him for a while and whispered back, "I suppose I am a little."  
Severus squeezed her hand and said, "You don't need to be," Aletta gave him a questioning smile and he added gently, "I promise you that I won't let anything or anyone bring harm to you."  
"Thank you, Severus. I can see that you have already had a talk with my uncle."  
Severus nodded and leaned toward her so she could rest her head on his shoulder again. The two professors didn't talk for the rest of the song, or the party. After they finished their dance Aletta walked over to join Maya, who was intently talking to Sirius. They had been together the whole night, and Aletta had a feeling that Maya had finally met her guy.   
An hour after she had finished her dance with Severus, Albus had asked her to join him for a walk out in the Hogwarts gardens.   
"I can assure you, despite the circumstances with Ron's memory loss and the dangers you will face, that you will have a good time," the old man said gently as he passed a rose bush. "You may not be aware of this, but when you both reach that certain spot in the Dark Forest, you will be alarmed by the beauty of it."  
Aletta turned her curious eyes on him and she stopped. "What do you mean?"  
Her uncle stopped as well and turned to her, "Aletta, when a person looks at the Dark Forest, they see ugliness and danger. They are correct in a way, but not quite. You see Aletta, the further you go into the forest, the more beautiful it comes. It's almost an opposite of a normal one. I'm sure the forests you have come across, are beautiful on the outside . . . and dark on the inside."  
Still finding it hard to believe that the Dark Forest was enchanting on the inside, Aletta had another question that was bothering her. "Uncle Albus, why is it that you chose Severus and I to get you the ingredients?"  
"Well . . . Severus was ideal for the job because he knows the ingredients' appearance, and how to take care of them until you return," Albus had now continued walking, and so did Aletta. "And you Aletta. You were ideal for the job because you possess the knowledge to protect against unfriendly spells and animals. Therefore you can help protect Severus, as well as yourself."  
"You don't think Severus is able to protect himself?" Aletta asked.  
"I have no doubt of his abilities of protecting himself. Plus I know that he prefers working alone. But you, my dear, can keep him company and back him up when he does get into a unsafe predicament."  
"He doesn't like company," Aletta said quietly. "I know that we are getting along now, but when that first trouble comes, I just don't think we can stop ourselves from killing each other."  
Dumbledore had now stopped and turned to Aletta. He took her hand and squeezed it gently, "The greatest good you can do for each other, is not to just share your riches, but to reveal to the other, their own."  
Aletta smiled and said, "I know, Uncle. I really do. But I just don't know how . . ."  
"You both are, each of you butterflies with only one wing; and you can only fly by embracing one another."  
"He wouldn't allow it," Aletta said gently. "If I even try and get close to him, I suppose he would shun me away. I just don't know how to get him to appreciate the friendship I am showing him."  
"You will know how, Aletta," Albus whispered as he gave her hand an encouraging squeeze. "You will know how."  
Her uncle leaned over and gave her a hand a small peck before he left her to think about Severus. 


	15. Could He Love Me?

Chapter 15- Could He Love Me?  
  
Aletta made her way toward the lake. The moon was burnished enough that one could read a book in its aurora. Considering the abiding reader she was, Aletta had no desire to decipher her books tonight. Her immersion was on other dealings, such as the corrupt, Potions Master she couldn't help but be bewitched and enraptured with. It was each thing about him that she, could she say, loved? No . . . not yet, she told herself. Aletta had scarcely known him for a interval, and here she was, assimilating her affections for him to be over and above acquaintanceship. Though she could say, without prevarication, that he would have no interest in a girl like her. Aletta was constantly cheerful and light-hearted. He was perpetually sarcastic and perverse, and it grew even more when he managed to see her. But there were those times that she almost felt as though he returned her feelings, as crazy as it seemed. For instance, tonight he had been kind and languishing. The way he spoke to her, held her, and danced with her made her feel like a fetish. To be in the arms of such a cruel man, yet feel like he was her knight in shining armor! These were the things that confused her to no end. Or is that what love feels like? she asked herself. Could all her sexual frustration and bewilderment just be that one, single, simple word? Love. It frightened her to think of it. In all her days of being surrounded by kind suitors who adored her, she never felt what she was now feeling for Severus. He had not kissed her with passion, but instead kissed her to punish her. Though it sure had a lasting effect on her. These thoughts and questions she pondered over and over. Yet she had no blunt answer or enlightenment to her mystification, which baffled her even more.  
Aletta approached the dock and seated herself at the end. The water glittered as the currents gently swept to the shore. She gazed down into the cerulean waters and saw her echo in the watery moon reflection. Aletta watched her aquatic reflection, almost expecting it to answer all of her troubled questions. By and by the time drifted, leaving her slightly dazed when she heard someone approaching her on the dock.  
"I was heading homeward when I recognized you to be the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher," an airy, cold voice drawled from behind her.  
Aletta stood promptly and glared at the flaxen-haired man before her. "You know, I'm not accustomed to seeing people walk home with two glasses and a bottle of wine in their hands."  
She hardly knew the man, but instantly didn't like him. "Ah! Well . . . you see-"  
"Save it for somebody who cares," Aletta said as she gave him a dismissive wave with her hand.  
"You have a cheek, I see," he drawled, clearly not realizing her look of non-interest. "Do you drink?"  
"Only when I'm thirsty," Aletta said as she started to walk toward the castle.  
He was following her so she sped her walk up. "Why is it that you don't want to talk to me?"  
"I don't talk to evil-looking men," she said as she sped her pace even more.  
"Severus looks pretty evil to me and you speak with him freely," he drawled.  
Aletta stopped and turned to look at him. "I also don't talk to mean with queer walking sticks."  
"Now that's sort of prejudice, don't you think?"  
"No, it's called protecting myself from strangers."  
Lucius grimaced and drawled, "I would hardly say that I am a stranger. You see, you happen to teach my son."  
Aletta laughed right out at the prospect of him having a son, "I see. Well, who is the unpleasant, little wanker?"  
She was surprised when he didn't hex her, "Dr-"  
"No, don't tell me!" she interrupted. "I'd probably end up deducting points from him every chance I get just because you're his father!" she halted and turned to him, and he looked enraged.  
"Lucius Malfoy," he extended his hand to her but she did not take it.  
"Oh I see," she said, trying not to snicker. "Your Draco's father."   
Lucius nodded with pride and Aletta had to bite her lip to keep from laughing. "Well then," she said and she looked Lucius over from head to toe. "I suppose the apple doesn't fall far from the tree."  
Lucius didn't realize the insult and nodded as he walked closer to her. Aletta saw this as a great time to turn and run. But before she could, he spoke.  
"So," he drawled softly as his piercing, milky blue eyes examined her. "Who cursed Mr. Weasley?"  
"Do you think they'd be doing searches for the culprit if we knew who he was?" Aletta asked, amazed by his thickness. So much like Draco, she thought dryly, though he could be faking it to get attention.  
"You sure have your wits about you, no?" he said as he set the glasses and bottle down on the wet, dewy grass.  
"I like to think so," she shot back as he whispered a spell to diminish the items. Boy, she thought, Maya's smart ass ways are sure rubbing off on me.   
"As do I," he sneered suddenly and she was surprised by his sudden change in intelligence. "I've had about enough of your insolence! Now tell me, how close are you into finding the curser of Mr. Weasley?"  
"Why so stimulated?" Aletta asked suspiciously as he suddenly looked a bit overwrought.  
"I should be!" he retorted. "I only want to keep the students of Hogwarts safe! My concern will always lie with the students as well as its staff!"  
"You sure don't seem the sentimental type, Mr. Malfoy," she said slowly as he reached inside of his robes for his cane.  
"Do you presume to tell me that I am a fabulist?" he asked as he whipped his wand out of the cane.  
Aletta would have chortled at his overly dramatic display, but usually when a wand is pointed at you, it's best not to laugh in their face. Lucius was just about to murmur a spell when a voice behind her interrupted him.  
"Lucius, is there a problem?"   
Aletta's heart fluttered when she heard his voice. I guess he really is my knight in shining armor, she thought girlishly. The tall, dark, brooding man behind her, however, not in the slightest intimidated Lucius. She now knew that he had been faking his little "I'm stupid" act. It reminded her of what she tried to do to Severus. Though he had turned the tables on her, and she could now freely be herself in front of him without feeling intimidated.  
"Not at all, Severus," he spoke smoothly as he inserted his wand back into the cane. After he had given Aletta one last glare, he whipped around, causing his hair to flap at her like a woman's. He sure gets in touch with his feminine side, she joked to herself as she watched him stomp toward the gates.  
"Did he harm you?" Severus asked with a hint of worry in his sleek voice.  
Aletta pivoted to look at him. She almost sighed when she looked upon him. The wind rustled his robes, which were fluttering proudly in his wake as he approached her slowly. His lanky, ebony hair was tousled about his face, giving him an almost boyish look. His aquiline nose and bony cheeks were hinted with pink from the cool breeze. He arched a thin, black brow at her as she continued to scrutinize his manly features.   
"It seems as though he didn't, unless he hexed you into oblivion," he joked. "That would be understandable considering your vacant gaze."  
He was so close now. So close that she could see the glittering stars reflecting in his endless, black eyes. His skin was glowing in the pale moonlight, the tint of pink on his skin now invisible.   
"I am now aware of what it feels like to talk to a wall," he murmured with pronounced annoyance.  
Snape then turned around and headed back to the caste, leaving a very dazed Aletta. He knew that she could have really been cursed to oblivion, but he was too disgruntled to help her. He couldn't believe it! She totally ignored him, yet got away with it. How dare she stand there and listen to his questions and not answer! Funny thing was, she didn't even hear a thing he had said.  
  
* * *  
  
Aletta had managed to find her way back to her room that night. She wished she had had a camera earlier. Severus Snape had been one incredibly, sexy man, she couldn't help but say. Not that he wasn't sexy every day, but that one pose in the moonlight had literally made her mind go blank. She saw nothing but his tall, lean figure in her dreams. And they certainly could be called dreams! When she first arrived, she wouldn't have been surprised to have had nightmares about him. But now that she knew him . . . sort of knew him . . . she knew that she was, perhaps, finally, falling madly in love with the man of her dreams. Even if he did snap at her and piss her off to the point where she wanted to quit just so she could rid of him . . . she still knew that he would remain to be the object of her undying affection. But who knows, she thought, maybe I'll find out hateful things about him on our journey? I bet he grinds his teeth at night, she mused, and talks about how much he loathes Harry Potter during sex. Plus she knew that he probably would never be interested in her, even if he did sometimes seem to be. Severus Snape could never love another an especially her! she thought. Or could he?   
  
A/N- My friend Psycho-Kitty-Purra helped me on this chapter in Global. . . while we were watching "Gandhi". LOL. So please give her a round of applause!   
Also, as I forgot to mention it in the last chapter, Raine Trinity is Psycho-Kitty-Purra's character. Miss. Trinity, along with Draco Malfoy, is currently starring in one of the best stories I am reading called "Cat's Game". You can locate that story on this website. It is an excellent work in progress and I urge you to read it! Another story I would like to recommend is called "Cauldrons Aflame", by JSSumner. It is on this site and is one of the most wonderful stories I am reading at the moment.   
I would also like to use this little note to thank my reviewers, even though there are a small number of them. LOL. I appreciate the lovely reviews and would love it if you continued to read my story as well as review it. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions regarding to my story. Or just e-mail me for chat. LOL.  
Thank you for your time,  
SeverusSnape (squidwardtentacles5@hotamail.com)  
PS. Please! I am begging you! Reviews are the best thing I can think of! I find that when my review number is low, I lose all of my 'umph' to continue writing. I hate to be a burden, but reviewing is the only thing that supplies you with more chapters! LOL. 


	16. And So It Begins

Chapter 16- And So It Begins  
  
The Master said, "Life leads the thoughtful man on a path of many windings. Now the course is checked, now it runs straight again. Here winged thoughts may pour freely forth in words, There the heavy burden of knowledge must be shut away in silence. But when two people are at one in their inmost hearts, They shatter even the strength of iron or of bronze. And when two people understand each other in their inmost hearts, Their words are sweet and strong, like the fragrance of orchids."  
-Excerpt from the "I Ching"  
  
"YOU VICIOUS BASTARD!" the black-haired man bellowed in infuriation as  
he pushed the door with all his might. "Open, damn you! Open!"  
Aletta snorted at the man's thickness and drawled in a Snape-like way, "The door handle usually helps, Sirius."  
His cheeks turned faintly red as he glanced down at the knob. "I knew that! I was just . . . testing it."  
Aletta arched her brow at him and he added irritably, "For sturdiness! You never know when a door like this'll give out!"  
Aletta gazed at the gargantuan steel doors and shook her head. The perturbed man glared at her before he finally twisted the handle. The enormous door swayed open promptly to show a breezy, summer dawn. It thumped against the side of the castle before it steadily began to sway back. Sirius, on the other hand, failed to see it in quest of its vengeance. With an immense clout, Sirius went soaring onto the granite arctic flooring. He hurriedly gathered himself up from the floor and brushed his hands across his robe, which had collected a superior amount of filth.  
"I swear that thing is decisively pissing me off!" he said with steam coming out of his ears and flared nostrils.  
"It appears as though inanimate objects despise you as much as inhabitants do, Black," Snape said silkily as he approached the two with a bulky suitcase and rolled-up, muggle sleeping bag.  
He dropped the two items to the ground, causing rim of the heavy suitcase to crash onto his foot, "Son of a bitch!", he hissed as both Sirius and Aletta started to titter.  
"The same could be alleged to you, Snape!" Sirius laughed as Aletta picked up a small backpack and sleeping bag and started to take them outside.  
Snape gave Sirius one of his bone-melting glares before he started to lug his oversized baggage out onto the lawn.  
"Where is the exhibition area?" he asked Aletta as he dropped his luggage to the ground, but not before making sure his feet would not be smashed to pancakes.  
"For Merlin's sake, just call it a tent! Must you constantly employ such problematical vocabulary to illustrate such self-explanatory things?" she said, extracting a tiny, satiny box from her pocket. Snape arched his black brow at her hypocritical question. "And it's in this little box," she added as she looked away from his mocking stare to the object in her hand.  
"You're shitting us, right?" Sirius asked as he joined the two professors.  
"You know, I've never really understood that grotesque idiom, but no, I am not 'shitting' you," she responded to Sirius and Snape smirked to some extent.  
"I can see how a tent can fit in there, but how do you think you're going to make it work when you're in the Dume Zone?" Sirius asked as he gave her a glinting smile that was invented to make her feel trodden.  
"Well, oh petty one," she said slowly as she walked up to him, holding the box up so he could plainly see it. "The Dume Zone does not consent to wand magic. Severus had never mentioned that this nature of magic couldn't work."  
She pushed a small button on the bottom of the box, and it instantly began to renovate into a tent. The three professors had to move back to allow it to transform into its complete structure. When it had entirely altered, the tent was a good ten feet high. Sirius' mouth literally dropped open as he circled the astounding tent.  
"I considered just the prospect of sleeping with Snape out in the undomesticated wild was nauseating," he joked as he entered the tent. "Yet," he added as he popped his head out of the opening, "Staying with him in the same tent is going to be worse, Aletta."  
"I'll survive," she joked as Snape looked away from the tent to glower at her.  
"If you were going as an alternative, Black, I would fear for Aletta's safety," he drawled as he loomed toward Sirius in the tent. "If not her purity."  
"Well, I don't think Aletta goes for men with extensive, black, flowing locks such as yours, Snape," Sirius shot back smoothly.  
Sirius' hair used to be just as long as Severus', but he had cut it recently, and his black tresses now were always tousled about his head.  
"I see you've set aside this special time to humiliate yourself in public," Snape droned as he walked over to Dumbledore who had approached them just in time to hear his remark.  
"Chickenshit," Sirius mumbled as he brushed past Snape with his head hung in defeat.  
"Dickhead," Severus murmured back.  
Dumbledore gave Severus a look of disapproval and Snape glowered even more. Albus then smiled as he gazed at Snape and Aletta who were now side by side. "I trust you both have everything you require for your stimulating adventure into the Dark Forest?"  
"I do," Aletta said jubilantly as Professor Mcgonagall arrived.  
"I do as well, Headmaster," Snape said inaudibly as Dumbledore nodded his head in endorsement.  
"Very good, very good indeed," Albus said lightly as he examined the two professors. "I think that this is all the people that are watching your departure," he added as he glanced back at the open door.  
Severus started to charm his huge suitcase to become as undersized as Aletta's as she walked over to Sirius, "Is Maya coming?"  
Sirius abruptly seemed sort of tense, "I would assume so. Why are you asking me anyway? I don't keep track of your friends."  
"Ah, but you keep track of the young ladies around Hogwarts, don't you?" Sirius glared at her and she added, "Besides, you guys seemed pretty relaxed with each other's company last night."  
Sirius was about to speak when the five professors heard loud footsteps running toward them from inside the castle. Out ran a flustered looking Maya and she stopped running right when she saw Sirius. Maya blushed to a bright scarlet when she saw him wink at her.  
"Sorry!" she said as she stopped in front of Aletta. "The mirror didn't wake me up like I asked it to last night."  
"Is 'mirror' your latest nickname, Black?" Severus droned with a smirk, and saw Sirius shoot fire at him from his eyes.  
Aletta walked over and elbowed Severus in the ribs and he grunted curtly in retort. He gave her one of his death glares but received two full- blown scowls from both Aletta and Maya.  
"Grungy git!" Sirius shot back at Snape.  
"Pissant," Severus murmured as he headed over to the edge of the forest.  
"Boys!" Albus almost yelled. "Please don't make this departure any more unpleasant than it already is. I don't like seeing you," he gave Severus one of his looks, "and my niece in a position such as this, and your quarrelling is making it more unbearable."  
He then followed after Snape as did the others. When they were all gathered in the dappled trees, Albus walked to the front of the group to where Aletta and Severus were.  
"Are you ready?" he asked soothingly to the two professors.  
Aletta nodded her head, somewhat reluctant to go now that she realized how friendless she would soon be. She knew that Severus wasn't one for idle tête-à-tête, and she could never keep her mouth shut. Particularly when she traveled. Albus then interrupted her thoughts.  
"Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art . . .," Aletta turned to Snape and saw him smirk, "It has no survival value," Aletta couldn't believe her uncle was saying such a thing, "rather it is one of those things that give value to survival."  
Aletta heard the mumblings of the other professors as they approved of Dumbledore and his statement. Aletta smiled lightly as she took his words to heart. A tear almost escaped her eye as she thought of how much she was going to miss her uncle's guidance and consideration.  
"You okay?" she heard her friend's voice ask.  
Aletta turned her glazed eyes to Maya and said nonchalantly, "I suppose so."  
Maya saw a tear escape the blonde's eye and embraced her friend in a affable squeeze. "What's wrong? And you can't say 'nothing' because you've said that to me so many times-."  
Aletta giggled and stepped back to get a last glimpse at her most loyal friend before the aloofness overcame her. "It's just," Aletta sniffled and wiped her pink nose on her sweater, a foul habit she has had for so long. "I don't know how to . . . to get along with him."  
Maya glanced over at Severus, who was indifferently leaning up against a tree as the professors bid their goodbyes to him, save Sirius.  
"Don't let him get you down," Maya said. "And if he does anything to upset you, just smack him!"  
Aletta chuckled as Maya did a mewing sound and leaned her head against Aletta's shoulder.  
"There's one thing that always brings a smile to my face," Aletta said as Maya looked up at her. "And that's when you purr."  
Maya smiled and did a perfect purring noise and Aletta succumbed to laughter.  
"Thank you," Aletta said, grateful that she had such a good buddy.  
Maya smiled just as Severus called to Aletta to bring her things over by his. The two girls approached Severus.  
"I am going to charm our luggage into one sack," he said casually as he set her belongings next to his so they made a small pile. When he was finished, he picked up the small backpack and handed it to Aletta. She took it willingly, not wanting to spur up his fury by telling him to carry his own damn bag.  
After she bid goodbye to her friends and uncle, she set off after Severus, who had already begun their journey.  
And so it begins, she thought, and so it begins.  
  
A/N: As you can see, I am now able to access the computer. But only by my own permission. I have found the key to my computer (No metaphor intended. My computer actually possesses a key. Silly, huh?) I will still be a bit slow on the updating since I can't freely be on the computer when they are home. But at least I have this short chapter up, eh? Well, review please! 


	17. Hanging By A Grapevine

Chapter 17- Hanging by a Grapevine  
  
One can afford to lose a great deal on this earth  
when the sun shines on it, and not feel any the worse  
for the loss: but a single shred of human affection,  
one can't afford to lose, -tho' the sun and moon  
and stars shone all at once!  
- Elizabeth Barrett  
  
"I'm sure going to miss that girl," Minerva said forlornly as she gazed at the vacant forest. "I hope she comes home safe."  
"She is in good hands, Minerva," Albus said, his eyes bursting with twinkling stars and he smiled evenly. "I would trust Severus with my own life. I have no doubt that she will return home undamaged."  
"I hope so, Albus," she said with anticipation, as she turned away from the forest, not able to tolerate the display of daunting gloom in which her colleagues now were.  
To cheer up the mood of his dear, female friend, Albus said cheerfully, "Now if I retain information properly, there is a bowl full of cookies and other sweets waiting to be devoured. Would you care to join me, Minerva?"  
Dumbledore stuck out his arm and Minerva took it keenly with a beam, "I would be delighted, Albus."  
They both walked on the way to the castle, the two professors treacherous expedition in the forest now forgotten, to some extent, in their minds.  
  
* * *  
* *  
  
The skies above turned to a pastel cerulean as the sunrise turned the day into a fresh, new one. The forest green grass reflected the sunlight to make it glow emerald to the limelight. Next to the sapphire waters of the lake, sat an attractive strawberry blonde, squinting at the Giant Squid as he bathed around on the surface, the sun reflecting his wet, slimy, scaly skin. She had her legs positioned in the water, the great ripples, caused by the squid's play, lapping at them. Her emerald green eyes were accentuated by the color of the grass that she was seated upon and by. The panorama of mountains on the horizon was lucid to even the blurriest watchers. No mist or haze made them appear to be an indistinct hallucination. The day was faultless, and the girl only wished that her pal were seated next to her, enjoying it as well. She was too embarrassed to face the man that she had gotten along with so well last night. And maybe she had been a bit overly affable to him. She heard footsteps approaching her from the direction of the castle. She did not glance behind her to see who it was. The long, slow strides told her exactly who to expect.  
"Hey," his low, throaty voice sounded from behind her.  
Maya greeted him, but did not look back. The squid was now serenely resting beneath the lake's facade, causing the water to turn out to be reasonably motionless.  
There was an awkward silence. But it was soon broken when the hypothetical sleeping squid swatted its tentacles onto the surface, generating water to spray on Maya. She stood up rapidly and cursed the squid, triggering Sirius' laughter. When Maya was in a dire mood, she was not to be tinkered with. Sirius learned this the hard way.  
Maya smirked as she scooped her hands into the water and suddenly Sirius' face was sodden with the cool water. She started to laugh, but desisted when Sirius fundamentally pushed her into the lake. Maya was fuming, but didn't illustrate it because of her next move. She smiled at him and held her hand out to him; clearly showing him that they were on a par. He grabbed it to draw her out, but instead she pulled him in. They cackled harder and climbed out so they wouldn't drown from laughing so greatly. They both laid back onto the grass, the breeze whipping over their sopping skin and garments as they gasped for air. When they had gained enough oxygen, Maya sat up and looked back at him with a grin on her face.  
"These are my favorite pants, asshole," she joked as his eyes glinted with humor.  
"This is my favorite robe, bitch," he shot back and she giggled.  
"It's your only robe!" she giggled as Sirius chuckled with amusement.  
Maya's mirth soon subsided and she unexpectedly asked the question she had been pondering since that morning, "What, precisely, did we do last night?"  
Sirius' chuckled at her abruptness. He knew she would ask that sooner or later. "What do you remember?"  
Maya scoffed in annoyance but told him anyway. "I remember being drunk . . . and you holding me . . . and kissing me."  
Sirius' eyes sparkled even more, to her irritation. "Indeed." He sat up and moved closer to her so they were hip to hip. "You told me to take you."  
"I'm going to assume that I didn't ask you to take me to a place," she said nonchalantly. "But, rather, myself?"  
"Of course," he said, almost seeming as though he was going to laugh at her.  
Maya sighed and put her head in her hands. "I can't believe I actually got drunk and slept with you!"  
"Who said you slept with me?" he asked, enjoying every moment of the conversation.  
"You did!" she yelled at him, now angrier than ever.  
"I absolutely did not say such a thing!" he said with mock awe. "My damn conscience would not allow it. So I deposited you on your bed, which seems more comfortable than mine, mind you."  
Maya whooped and threw her arms around his neck. "Oh, thank Merlin!"  
"Is the prospect of sleeping with me that unpleasant?" he asked in confusion, somewhat hurt.  
Maya pulled back from the embrace and smiled at him, "Not one bit!" and she truly kissed him for the first time.  
  
* *  
* * *  
  
"Ouch!"  
"What the devil is it!"  
Aletta sat down on a nearby boulder and sighed in exhaustion. Severus growled in aggravation as he saw her assemble. He sauntered toward her and sat down on a rotted log across from her.  
"What is it?" he barked as she pulled her right shoe off.  
Aletta looked up and glared at him as she kneaded her aching foot, "You walk so damn fast that you were basically jogging!"  
"I cannot refrain from having an efficient, longer stride than you!" he shouted back and she cringed at his unexpected eruption.  
"If only you would wash your neck, I'd wring it!" she shouted at him as she stuffed her shoe back on and opened her bag.  
Snape stood and snarled, "I have had too much of your company!" and stormed off toward another log, located a good distance away from Aletta.  
Aletta huffed at him and pulled a bottle of water out of her bag. "You're still the same old sausage, fizzing and spluttering in your own grease!"  
"Don't be bitter at me because I'm superior to you and enjoy pissing on your self-esteem. Be bitter at your parents for mixing their genes and spawning you!" he retorted and she immediately stood up and walked over to him.  
Aletta waved her hand back and slapped Snape as hard as she could. "Success hasn't changed you a bit. You're still the same jerk you were when I first met you!"  
Snape immediately brought his hand back and Aletta's eyes widened. He held his hand back for a moment, fisted it, and brought it back down to his side.  
"Go on," Aletta provoked. "Hit me."  
Snape's eyes were on fire, and he was so livid he felt as though he was going to take her offer. The girl had guts, he thought, no woman would have done that with such gallantry that she just did. "No, I will not hit you."  
"Is it because your boss is my great uncle?" she asked tauntingly. "Didn't want to lose your job, huh?"  
Snape knew that wasn't the reason why, but he agreed anyway so he could put an end to the unsettling conversation, "Yes, precisely," he hissed sardonically.  
Aletta rolled her eyes at him and retrieved to her bag. She could almost feel his eyes smoldering holes of loathing in her back as she walked. Aletta wouldn't be bothered if he despised her. Or would she?  
  
* * *  
* * *  
The glory of friendship is not the outstretched hand,  
Nor the kindly smile nor the joy of companionship;  
It is the spiritual inspiration  
That comes to one when he discovers  
That someone else believes in him  
And is willing to trust him.  
  
-Ralph Waldo Emerson  
  
The two professors were soundless for about an hour. But the peace was broken when Aletta started to sneeze uncontrollably.  
"Dammit!" she yelled to herself between a sneeze and a sniff as she searched her bag. "I forgot my damn allergy pills!"  
She sneezed twice in a row and glanced over at the egotistical man that was now lounged comfortably on the sleeping bag inside the tent. He didn't even give her a fleeting look when Aletta sniffed loudly in attempt to gain his attention. Severus just kept on reading his book, a content look on his face as he flipped one fragile page over to read on. Aletta felt like screaming. The whole world seemed to be annoying her at the moment. Outside the tent in the darkness, a frog croaked incessantly. She wouldn't have found it so bothersome if she were able to breathe. But now, as she stared at Snape, she felt enraged. And when she was pissed, she set off to do some 'annoying' herself.  
Ever since Aletta was a girl, she had been able to make a pig noise in the back of her throat, and she usually did it when she had an itchy throat. At the moment, her throat was so scratchy, she felt like putting her hand into her mouth to rub it. Giving Snape one more chance to acknowledge her discomfort, she coughed stridently and pathetically. He remained stationary and she started to do her pig noise very noisily while she watched him. Pig sound after pig sound, he made no move. At last, after about fifty oinks, he coughed. Infuriated by his disregard, she screamed.  
"Is there a problem?" he asked as he finally looked up from his book.  
"Bastard," she hissed at him as he raised an eyebrow in mock confusion. "I feel like shit, that's the problem!"  
He snapped his book shut and stood up. He motioned for her to stand to, but she stayed seated.  
"Are you going to let me help you, or not?" he ridiculed, and she huffily stood up.  
He walked over and tilted her chin up toward him with his hand. The contact of his hand on her made her quake inwardly, for some abnormal reason. Maybe she thought he was incredibly attractive before, but after what they had been through, she should loathe him irreparably. He moved his hand to her eye and lifted the lid up to examine it. She, nauseatingly, shuddered again.  
"Do you know what is causing this reaction?" he asked quietly as his hand smoothed back down to her chin.  
Aletta's eyes widened at his question, but relaxed when she realized he was talking about her allergies.  
She didn't know what did it, but she frenziedly mocked, "Probably your ignorance."  
He amazingly chuckled and dropped his hand down to his side, "I would articulate the definition of ignorance to be one who, instead of asking courteously for medical attention, seeks it by making repellent swine noises."  
"I express regret for your unconsciousness!" she spat. "Of course, if you were animate, you would have noticed my allergies and helped me immediately."  
He barely smirked and said, "I was engrossed in my book-,"  
"-about herbs," she finished. "Who the hell could get immersed in a book about herbs?"  
Snape stared at her for a moment and answered, "Neville Longbottom."  
"According to the grapevine, I should clarify the question," she said sarcastically. "After all, I am talking to you."  
He suddenly grabbed her jaw and started to compel it open. She muffled things like 'I'll bite you!' and 'Rape!' He gave no heed to her cries as he extracted his wand from his robe and pointed it inside her mouth. He murmured a spell and a green light came streaming out of the tip of his wand into her mouth. She abruptly stopped struggling in chaste horror as she waited for the blackness to consume her body.  
  
A/N- Sorry it took me so long to update. I've been busy with school and all. Hope you enjoyed the chapter! Would you say this is a cliffhanger? Keep reading! You won't be disappointed. Or at least I hope not . . . 


	18. Solace

Chapter 18- Solace  
  
Awed by her splendor  
Stars near the lovely  
Moon cover their own  
Bright faces  
When she  
Is roundest and lights  
Earth with her silver  
-Sappho  
  
An alleged hand brushed gently across her cheek, moving slowly down to her neck. She moved her head to the side, realizing that it was rested on a fluffy pillow. The hand removed itself from her soft skin, and she mumbled at it, hoping it would resume its caress. It didn't come back, so she parted an eyelid slightly, but closed it when an unpleasant light shone on her pupil. Mumbling more, she took in a deep breath.  
"I can breathe," she thought to herself. "I must have made it to heaven."  
Still refusing to open her eyes, she sat up, but groaned loudly when she noticed the excruciating pain in her neck. Forcing her lids open, she realized she was still in the tent, enclosed in an excessively hefty blanket. She slowly turned her head to the side to find Severus next to her, sleeping, dare she say, serenely. Aletta studied his features and noticed how they weren't so hard when he was in slumber. He conspicuously had a boyish look to him, his hair tousled about like a youngster that refused to comb it. She was all the more shocked by how his body didn't seem so inflexible and uptight like it frequently gave the impression to.  
"Something off beam?"  
Aletta squealed when she heard his silken voice incise through the silence like a blade through margarine.  
"No!" she said with aggravation as he sat up. "And what in the name of all that's holy did you do to me last night?"  
Snape smirked slightly and answered, "I cured you of your allergies." Aletta glared at him and he added, "Temporarily, of course. The spell will wear off in a couple of weeks."  
Snape had now walked over to the kitchen in the tent and opened up the fridge. He grabbed a carton and poured two glasses of orange juice before he walked over to her.  
Her eyes abruptly expanded when she saw that he was only wearing his boxer shorts. Now she had an ideal vision of his exposed chest. Her eyes followed the firm lines from his shoulder blades down to his compact abdomen. She noted how his muscles were adequately shaped and well built. He had no wrestler body, to her relief, yet he did have a burly one. Severus watched her as she zoomed her gaze down his muscular legs to his feet.  
"Funny," she said sarcastically. "I've always assumed that you had cloven hooves."  
Snape chuckled and handed her the glass of juice, "Madame Pomfrey said the same thing when she healed it." Aletta's brows furrowed at him in question and he added, "A three-headed dog planted a gory gash in my left foot."  
Aletta glanced at his foot again and noticed a perceptible scar. She still had on a perplexed stare when she returned her gaze to him.  
"Don't ask," he said curtly. "The damn dog is long gone now. We only required him provisionally for the Sorcerer's Stone. I'm sure your uncle has enlightened you on that indisputably, attention-grabbing year?"  
Aletta nodded and took her first sip from the glass in her hand. When she swallowed the tangy juice, she noted again, "I had also presumed that you had the torso of an orangutan."  
Snape patted his hand against his wholly hairless chest and chuckled, "Would you be more satisfied if my chest were full of boisterous, black fur?"  
"Perhaps," she joked and he smirked with amusement.  
"I take it we are finally getting along?" he droned and took a swig from his glass as though it were an alcoholic drink.  
"Apparently," she said sarcastically, and she pushed the wool blanket off of her to reveal her attire to be a single, short shirt.  
"Did you do this?" she looked at it with aversion and then pulled the coverlet up around her pelvis to envelop her unclothed legs.  
"I did it with a spell, so you need not worry that I did it physically," he assured quickly as he tore his eyes away from where her bare legs used show. "And I put you under the quilt prior to it."  
"Why did you make them so scarce?" she asked with a blush and he sighed.  
"I suppose I thought you would be more at ease with a reduced amount of clothes on," he mumbled as he turned away from her to fill up his glass.  
"Do you think that I wear virtually nothing when I sleep?" she teased as she pulled her bag to her side to search for shorts.  
"Would you like more juice?" he asked with grumpiness, she imagined because of her vexing.  
Aletta shook her head with a smile and downed the rest of her juice. She set the glass next to her and pulled on a pairs of shorts that she hauled out of her bag.  
"You know," she said conversationally as Snape sat down in a chair next in the center of the tent. "I thought you were going to kill me last night."  
Snape's eyes darkened vaguely as he gazed into her own bright ones. "What kind of a fool do you take me for? Even if I did want to kill you, I would have hired somebody to do the job so I may keep mine."  
"That's consoling," Aletta joked as she stood up. "I have a feeling I should watch my back more often."  
Snape smirked as his eyes roamed her chest that was now puffed out, her arms skyward. He then heard an unpleasant crack.  
"Graceful," he drawled as he leaned back in his chair. "Does your back always do that?"  
Aletta cracked it again before she relaxed her muscles and collapsed in a nearby chair. "Well, yes," she replied. "But it seems to do it more than usual when I'm anxious and tense. Perhaps you should cut the pace of our walking down to a reasonable speed."  
Snape rolled his eyes. "My speed is superior. However, yours seems to be analogous to a snail's."  
"I think I walk perfectly fine, thank you very much!" Aletta said with annoyance as she cracked her neck and winced at the soreness of it.  
"A high-quality rubdown would relieve you of those objectionable aches."  
"And where, pray tell, do you recommend me get one out in the middle of the Dark Forest?"  
Snape raised his brow and after a long pause he said derisively, "I'm certain there's some creature out there that specializes in massages. Shall we ask around?"  
Aletta scoffed at him with a smirk and said calmly, "You're incorrigible, you know that?"  
"I was told, maybe, once or twice," he replied with a small smile.  
Aletta chuckled as she shook her head, "You know, you really aren't that horrifying after all."  
Snape bowed his head in mock gratitude, "Thank you, mademoiselle."  
Aletta laughed again at his unsurpassed wit. She never would have guessed that he had such a sense of humor. Uncle Albus was right; she thought as she looked into Severus' gleaming black eyes, perhaps I will have fun.  
  
A/N: Sorry it's so short! I promise the next chapter will be really long! Please review! It makes me write faster! Oh, and I probably won't have another chapter up for awhile. My exams are this week and my mind is going to be engrossed in studying. Thanks! Au revoir!  
S.S. 


	19. I Could Fall In Love

Chapter 19- I Could Fall In Love  
  
I could lose my heart tonight   
  
If you don't turn and walk away   
  
'Cause the way I feel I might   
  
Lose control and let you stay   
  
'Cause I could take in my arms   
  
And never let go   
  
I could fall in love with you  
  
I could fall in love with you   
  
I can only wonder how   
  
Touching you would make me feel  
  
But if I take that chance right now  
  
Tomorrow will you want me still   
  
So I should keep this to myself   
  
And never let you know   
  
I could fall in love with you   
  
I could fall in love with you   
  
And I know it's not right   
  
And I guess I should try to do what I should do  
  
But I could fall in love, fall in love with you   
  
I could fall in love with you  
  
The next few days went well, though they did exchange a few blows here and there. The scraps were diminutive enough for the two professors to make up afterward with ease. Despite all of their disputes, Aletta felt herself growing closer to the man she formerly detested. Severus also appeared less peeved when he was with her. He spat fewer insults and retorts than he did before. Nevertheless, he occasionally managed to irritate her with his sarcasm and pessimism as she did to him with her rather related demeanor. Even though Aletta had succeeded in somewhat befriending him, she still annoyed the hell out of him.  
  
"Are you sure we're going in the right direction?" Aletta asked him as they bustled through a troubling thicket.  
  
Severus whacked a tree branch to the side that covered his trail and responded through clenched teeth, "Yes."  
  
His foot suddenly caught on an undetected large stone and he staggered forward. Unable to catch himself, he plummeted backward onto his bottom. Severus was mad; very mad. To enraged to go further, he took his bag and hoisted it up behind his hind so he could lean back against it. He groaned contentedly as his aching muscles stretched and relaxed. The sound of Aletta's giggling suddenly reverberated in his ears. He turned to glare at her, but before he could, she had dropped herself down beside him.   
  
"You should've seen your face," she sniggered as he now had his fully-fledged glare on her.  
  
Aletta widened her eyes and flapped her arms about her, clearly replaying his performance.   
  
"I like a woman that can be herself around others," he insulted and she stopped her mockery of him to give him her own glare.   
  
After a good glower competition, Aletta spoke up, "Should we set up camp?"  
  
Snape arched an eyebrow at her, "Does it look like we can?"  
  
She realized he had a point as she gazed around the forest. The whole brush that surrounded them seemed to go on for miles.   
  
"Well, we could always clear a spot with a flick of a wand," she suggested as she stood to examine the area around them.   
  
Snape snorted and gazed up at her, "Now why didn't I think of that? Oh, that's right, because we can't!"  
  
Aletta turned to look at him from her scrutinizing and widened her eyes, "You mean we already reached the Dume Zone?!"  
  
"Certainly," he replied as he pulled a flask out of the inside pocket of his robes.  
  
"Why didn't you tell me?" she asked with frustration.  
  
The content smirk that he had on his face angered her more. "I guess I just didn't feel like it at the time."  
  
Aletta's eyes flashed dangerously at his derision, but subsequently, she smiled. "Well, then it appears that we have to, in some way, move several of these bushes to generate a clearing to set up camp."  
  
"We?" Severus asked resolutely as he took another guzzled another swig from his flask.  
  
"Yes, 'we'," Aletta snapped sardonically. "Unless you prefer to do it yourself?"  
  
Snape grumbled and stood to help her. They had managed to cut the bushes with the shears that Aletta had brought with her.   
  
After an hour our so, a small part of the shrubbery had been cleared. Snape had just cut the last shrub when he turned to look at Aletta, who had taken off her top shirt to reveal a black tank top that was a bit small. To her amusement, Snape had also stripped down due to the sweat he worked up while cutting the shrubs. He was now clad in an undershirt with no sleeves and his usual black pants.   
  
"Did you work hard?" Snape hissed. "Or hardly work?  
  
"I cut a couple shrubs!" Aletta said defensively as Snape threw the shears aside and set the box down in the center of the clearing.   
  
He pressed the button, and the tent sprang out. Snape walked over to sit next to her on the dirt in front of the tent. He grabbed her water bottle, tilted his head back and held the spout to his mouth. Water poured into his mouth as he squeezed it brutally. Some water splashed onto his face and trickled down his chin to his half bare chest. Aletta watched the water trickle on his clammy, soiled skin. He had patches of dirt on his face, chest and arms while his damp hair was disheveled about his face. She never knew a man could look this sexy when they were in disarray. After he drank all of the remaining water in the bottle, he threw it to the side and leaned back onto the earthy soil. His glittering black eyes gazed up at the small opening in the trees above that allowed some moonlight to shine through. Aletta was transfixed on his appearance, but her thoughts were disturbed when he looked at her own untidy self.   
  
"Should we start a fire?" he asked silkily as his eyes wandered over her face and torso.   
  
She amused herself with the thought that he might find her appearance as erotic as she found his. "Might as well."  
  
"Good," he replied as he averted his gaze back to the sky. "You can do it."  
  
Aletta scowled at him as she stood to get the fire site ready. What she didn't know was that he was watching her very closely as she struggled to move logs to the spot in front of him. He was frequently satisfied with a small peek of the pinnacle of her chest as she bent over to set a log down. He, soon enough, slapped himself inwardly, calling himself a pervert for watching such a thing. However, it wasn't like he desired her just because of her stunning looks. Snape also admired her for her cleverness, individuality, and ability to identify with him. He also enjoyed teasing her continually. The way she endured his cruelty and sarcasm kept him on his toes. Severus adored her retorts to his insults and her opinions to his thoughts.   
  
As he pondered all of this, he realized he was beginning to really like the girl. Hold on, he thought, the woman.  
  
"There!" she exclaimed as she tossed the last log onto the fire. "How's that?"  
  
Severus gazed at the roaring fire before him and nodded, "Adequate."  
  
"Adequate!" she said with disappointment. "That's the best fire we've had yet! I'd call it enthralling!"  
  
"I beg to differ," he said quietly as she sat down next to him again.  
  
"Oh, you!" she said playfully. "I can never please you, can I?" Snape arched an eyebrow at her and she added. "Come to think of it, nobody can please you!"  
  
"Do you expect me to jump for joy and kiss you cheerfully whenever you do something productive? Which is seldom, I might add."  
  
"You're such a bastard!" she said humorously as he smirked triumphantly at her. "Were you this cruel when you were a child?"  
  
"I suppose," he said as he prodded the fire with a stick he found lying next to him.  
  
"I speculate that you were the oddball of the class," she joked as she too started to poke the fire with her own stick. "And that you were taunted all the time and laughed at!"  
  
She had struck a nerve.   
  
"What does my child life matter to you!" he snapped suddenly. "What about yours? You probably were made fun of all the time and had very few friends!"  
  
Aletta frowned and started to say something but Severus added, "You wouldn't be intelligent enough to understand anything that I would be stupid enough to tell you anyways."  
  
A few minutes passed in which Aletta stared at him incredulously.   
  
"I was just joking about what I said earlier, Severus," she said so quietly that he had to strain his ears to hear her.   
  
He turned to look at her and he saw the firelight flicker off of a tear that was now gently rolling down her cheek.   
  
"You're right," she said a bit louder, but still silently. "I was made fun of. But the people who did just didn't understand me. Only my 'few friends' did."  
  
He saw some more tears escape and he involuntarily moved his hand to her face to brush them away. It was too late to retract his hand; she had already moved her hand to his own, which was still on her cheek. Aletta allowed some more tears fall and he, again, brushed them away without thinking. She smiled sadly and him and brought her hand down with his in it.   
  
"I am profoundly apologetic for what I said, Aletta," he murmured quietly. "I did not know you were jesting. I guess the truth in your joke made it hard for me to bear."  
  
Aletta squeezed his hand gently and asked, "Were you really . . . you know?"  
  
She looked a bit scared as though he would snap again, but for some odd reason, he only answered her question with sincerity.   
  
"Yes. I was mocked continuously by James Potter and Sirius Black."  
  
Aletta let his hand go, but it still rested on her bare knee. She had no idea why he was being so open with her, and neither did he. Severus never told anyone about his past, especially his childhood.   
  
"Though, I hate to admit it, I sometimes deserved it," he added. "Potter and I hated each other ever since we had met."  
  
"Why?" Aletta asked quietly, suddenly wanting to know everything about this man.  
  
"He was everything I wanted to be," he replied with a bit of a bite to his voice. "And ever since he died, we had been enemies."  
  
Aletta gazed at him for a while before she spoke up, "Is that why you hate Harry so much?"  
  
"I don't hate Potter," he replied a bit snappishly as he pulled his hand away. "I just dislike him immensely."  
  
"I see the difference," Aletta said sarcastically as she stood. "Well, I guess I'm going to head off to bed."  
  
"How did you know?" he asked suddenly and she turned around and gave him quizzical look.   
  
"How did I know what. . . ?" she asked as he stood to approach her.  
  
When he was about a foot away from her, he murmured, "About my childhood?"  
  
"Just a wild guess," she replied with a small smile.   
  
He smirked back and said, "You know, I've never told anyone about that in my entire life. Except for Dumbledore, of course. He knew without me telling him."  
  
"I'm honored to be the first woman to know, then," she said truthfully.  
  
The corner of Snape's lips twitched and he said, "And if you tell anyone," he said slowly with some humor, "then I'll have to imprison you."  
  
"Hmmm, would you visit me often?" she asked mischievously.  
  
Severus' eyes glittered and he replied, "Most likely."  
  
Aletta smiled and said, "Then don't be surprised if I tell someone as soon as we return."  
  
Snape smirked again and leaned in closer to her, "You are quite flirtatious."  
  
Aletta smiled again and said, "And you are, as well."  
  
Snape abruptly brought his hand to her arm and rubbed it soothingly as he moved it upward toward her neck. When it reached its destination, he slightly pulled her toward him, her pink lips now inches away from his own.   
  
"Whatever are you going to do, Professor Snape?" she asked breathlessly, though still managing to sneak in some humor.  
  
"Kiss you."  
  
And before she could reply he captured her mouth with a slow, sweet kiss.  
  
  
  
A/N- Sorry it took so long for me to update! I've been busy reading the new HP. I'm not going to have any spoilers in this story, so don't worry if you still haven't read it yet! Please review! Is this a cliffhanger?  
  
S.S. 


	20. I Do Not Love Thee!

Chapter 20- I Do Not Love Thee  
  
I do not love thee! No! I do not love thee!  
  
And yet when thou art absent I am sad;  
  
And envy even the bright blue sky above thee,  
  
Whose quiet stars may see thee and be glad.  
  
I do not love thee! yet, I know not why,  
  
Whate'er thou does seems still well done, to me --  
  
And often in my solitude I sigh --  
  
That those I do love are not more like thee!  
  
I do not love thee! yet when thou art gone  
  
I hate the sound (though those who speak be dear)  
  
Which breaks the lingering echo of the tone  
  
Thy voice of music leaves upon my ear.  
  
I do not love thee! yet thy speaking eyes,  
  
With their deep, bright and most expressive blue --  
  
Between me and the midnight heaven arise,  
  
Oftener than any eyes I ever knew.  
  
I know I do not love thee! yet, alas!  
  
Others will scarcely trust my candid heart;  
  
And oft I catch them smiling as they pass,  
  
Because they see me gazing where thou art. Aletta hesitated instantly and pulled back. She knew she wanted to continue, but her heart was fluttering too fast and she had a substantial sensation of vertigo. His dark, scintillating stare was still concentrated on her face as her own was on his chest, refusing to meet his steely, impious gaze.  
"I apologize," she said, not abiding the awkward silence any longer.  
She moved to walk into the tent, but stopped to turn and look back at him. She didn't know why.  
"Are you angling for a compliment, in that case?" Snape taunted lightly, but with appealing irony.  
"A compliment?" she repeated blankly.  
"Wasn't I supposed to be affected by the saccharine vision of your loveliness in the moonlight?" His mouth twisted into a jeering smirk.  
Aletta tossed her head back to send him a glittering look. "The evening is much to peaceful to start another argument with you."  
"You've failed to be conciliatory all evening. Why start now, Aletta?" The husky issuance of her name started a disturbing reaction in her stomach.  
She swallowed involuntarily, glancing furtively around, the realization of them being entirely alone dawning on her. Of course, they have been alone for many days now, but that fact had not bothered her as much as it was now.  
"First time I've seen you lost for words," he said mockingly as he smoothly started toward her. "Am I hallucinating? I must be since you kissed me."  
"Excuse me!" she said, anger sparking in her eyes as she unflinchingly met his steady look. "I believe it was you who kissed me."  
Snape shrugged slightly as he came to a halt in front of her. "I suppose that's accurate. Though you were intending it."  
"If it was my intention, I would surely have picked a man who at least was attracted to me. You've made your dislike of me very clear," she responded boldly.  
"On the contrary, I am attracted to you. I may think you're an irritating little witch-" his mouth curved into a humorless smile when he lazily inspected her upturned face "-but it doesn't lessen the desire to make love to you. You're a very beautiful woman."  
The bluntness of his declaration sent shivers of ice down her spine. "Save your compliments for some other woman. I'm sure she would appreciate them much more than I do," Aletta lied sharply, averting her gaze.  
His thumb and finger caught her chin and turned her back. "Jealous?" Snape mocked huskily, his eyes glittering over the deepening color in her cheeks that not even the dim light could hide.  
Her eyes blazing, she wrenched away from his touch. "Of who you conceited, arrogant-?"  
The sheen in his eyes turned to onyx coal as he clamped a hand over her mouth, shutting off the tirade with the swiftness of a slicing blade. Her hands came up to tear his fingers away and she was crushed against his chest.  
"I wondered how long it would take before you lost your temper." Slowly he removed his hand. "You can scream all you want. There isn't anyone around to hear you."  
"Let me go!" Aletta hissed.  
Snape smiled coldly, lacing his fingers through her hair to prevent her from twisting her face away. His mouth descended toward her and Aletta was helpless to avoid it. And she didn't want to. Though a gasp of protest was torn from her throat as he nuzzled the throbbing pulse in her neck.  
"Make your token resistance if you must," he jeered, raising havoc with her heartbeat as he nibbled at her ear, "but you know you intended this to happen all along."  
"No," she denied desperately.  
His mouth trailed over her cheek to taste the corner of her lips, the warmth of his breath caressing her skin.  
"No?" he said, more than questioned. "Somehow I doubt that."  
The tantalizing closeness of his mouth, sensually touching without taking, was unnerving. A purely physical reaction started a trembling through her limbs.  
"Don't!" She spoke against his mouth, fire leaping somewhere inside her. "I guess I sort of wanted it to happen-"  
"Naturally," he agreed.  
"I thought that maybe we could be more than . . . than friends," Aletta explained frantically. "That's why I teased you."  
His head rose from hers, a brow arching in satisfaction. "Now I know the truth," he murmured, relaxing his hold so she could pull free.  
Staring at him, Aletta bit into her lip still burning form the nearness of his. "You tricked me, didn't you?" she accused in a shallow breath. "You never intended to try to seduce me."  
"Could I have?" The grooves around his moth deepened.  
"No!" She spun away, somewhat disappointed.  
Her flesh still tingled from the imprint of his male form and there was a funny empty ache in the pit of her stomach. Could he, a tiny voice inside asked.  
"No!" The second vigorous denial was made to the voice.  
"You'd better get to bed," Snape said with a silent laughter in his voice, "while you're still trying to make up your mind. If you aren't convinced, then I may become curious enough to find out for myself.  
It sounded very much like a threat to Aletta. A threat I wouldn't mind, she thought involuntarily. Sometimes it was better to retreat and lose a battle than to stay and lose a war. Right now Snape was much too disturbing and influence for her to think straight.  
As Aletta entered the tent, Severus had other plans. A great deal of thinking. When she had shut the opening to the tent, Severus sat back down next to the struggling fire. He couldn't believe what he almost did. Thank Merlin I thought up a plan to scare her away, he thought contentedly. He had ashamedly given into his wants and desires. He thought back to his reply from earlier. "Kiss you." Yes, he had meant it, but could not surpass the thick headedness of him. He was glad he had made her see him as a conceited seducer. He admired her, and maybe he liked her a bit more than just that. Severus Snape, however, would cut off his arm before he would admit that. 


	21. Troubled Love

Chapter 21- Troubled Love  
  
The lotus flower is troubled  
  
At the sun's dazzling light;  
  
With sunken head and sadly  
  
She dreamily waits for the night.  
  
The moon appears as her wooer,  
  
She wakes at his fond embrace;  
  
For him she kindly uncovers  
  
Her sweetly flowering face.  
  
She blooms and glows and glistens,  
  
And mutely gazed above;  
  
She weeps and exhales and trembles  
  
With love and the sorrows of love.  
  
-Heinrich Heine   
  
Aletta roused from her restive slumber that night, her mentality uptight about something. She involuntarily whipped her head around to view Severus' sleeping bag and saw him absent from its comfy environment. She was certain that she had heard him come in, momentarily after her, and settle down inside his divan. Aletta also swore that she had distinctly heard him mumble a 'good night' to her. Suddenly fearful that he might have left her, she stood up and pulled on her black negligee to go look for him. After Aletta slipped on her flip-flops she made her way out of the tent, along with her flashlight.   
  
As she explored the nearest grounds, they seemed entirely foreign to her. Absurd ideas of how they had gotten to such an alien place intruded her customarily serene mind. The noise of a rapid waterfall sounded ahead of her, and Aletta became even more bemused.   
  
On and on she hiked, no sign of Severus to calm her frustrated, anxious demeanor. The forest became more cheerful the farther she walked, though she felt in danger of becoming lost if she wandered any further. But her mental pictures of Severus being strangled by enchanted vines, and bitten by a swarm of poisonous snakes pressed her onward. It felt like hours before she finally reached the waterfall she had begun to hear a short time back.   
  
She approached a cliff that overlooked the aquatic scene and was taken aback by what she saw. Down by the small river, which was being replenished by the waterfall, was a horde of fruitful plants and trees, tropical plant life and wildlife. Aletta giggled at the solitary flamingo that stood blissfully in the shallow waters located at the side of the river. Her spirits lifted even more when she heard his voice behind her.  
  
"Beautiful, isn't it?" he said with silky content.   
  
Aletta turned to him and smiled brightly, "Yes, it certainly is!"She was breath-taken at his sight. He was clad in wet black boxers and a tight chemise with no sleeves, his hair sopping wet. Aletta assumed that he had taken a bath in the river judging by his appearance and the soap he held in his hand.  
  
"I feel refreshed," he said, the first light starting to shimmer over his features.   
  
Aletta smiled again. "Apparently, though I am curious to know why you come to bathe so early?"  
  
Snape smirked as he stopped in front of her. "Well, I suppose it was because I didn't want an audience. And if you knew, I'm sure you would have come and watched me," he watched Aletta roll her eyes and added, "I had just finished pulling my boxers on when I spotted you."  
  
Aletta blushed and stared at him for a moment before she said, "I thought you had left me."  
  
Severus chuckled deeply, which seemed to ignite a fire deep down in Aletta's stomach, "A gentleman would never abandon a lady in the middle of the Forbidden Forest."  
  
"Who says you're a gentleman?" she asked playfully as he ran his slender fingers through his silky, inklike hair.   
  
Snape gave her a look of contemplation until he answered, "You."  
  
Aletta shook her head and said, "I never did."  
  
Snape shrugged his shoulders and said, "Well, as I said, a gentleman would never abandon a lady, and I never did abandon you." He smirked at her and added, "Therefore I am, indeed, a gentleman. And a good one, at that."  
  
Aletta shook her head in amazement at his fast intellect and wit. "Well, I guess I'll take a bath since I'm here."  
  
Snape handed her the soap and she took it gratefully. She had not had a shower in Merlin only knows how long. She glanced over the cliff and then around her with a look of curiosity.  
  
"There is a path I cleared over here," he said as he walked to the left.  
  
Aletta followed him down a steep hill on the side of the cliff that gradually turned to an end at the riverbank. She slipped off her sandals and poked the tip of her right foot into the water. It was fairly warm, so she stripped herself of her robe and threw it aside. Her nightgown was pretty revealing, what with her ample bosom peaking out of the V-neck and the sleeves being mere spaghetti straps. Aletta had forgotten Severus was behind her as she started to lift it off. When she had the bottom of her gown to her belly, her black panties and sunbathed legs discovered by his hungry eyes, she heard him clear his throat behind her. Aletta swiftly dropped her gown and turned to him, very red in the face.   
  
"Would you prefer me to stay?" he asked throatily with a smirk, his eyes aglitter with desire.   
  
Aletta gazed at her surroundings. Even though it was beautiful, she couldn't help but be a little apprehensive about the wildlife that lived within the trees and brush. She looked back to his pale face and answered seriously, "Could you?"  
  
Severus evidently gulped, his Adams apple bobbing. He had meant his question to be a tease.   
  
Noticing his discomfort, Aletta added quickly, "With you facing the other way, of course."   
  
Snape nodded, afraid that if he said something, it would come out as an awkward growl or croak. He turned with his sight on the cliff, but his mind still lingered on the woman that was now stripping behind him. He heard her sigh and walk toward him, he was about to turn around but she stopped him, "No, don't turn around! I was just wondering if you would hold my garments. The ground is quite dirty and I would rather my clothes be kept unsoiled."  
  
Severus coughed and said, "Very well."  
  
He held his hand out in front of him and saw her bare arm reach around him and set a bundle of garments in his hand. He grabbed hold of them and she whispered her thanks.  
  
Her gown was wrapped around her undergarments to his perverted disappointment, and he was not going to unwrap it with her bathing just behind him. He heard a splash of water as she jumped in, but then heard her curse.  
  
"Is anything wrong?" he asked, somewhat hoping she would say 'Yes' so he could jump in and rescue her gorgeous, nude self.  
  
"No, it's okay," she said as she drew in a sharp breath. "I just cut my foot on something."  
  
He nodded and started to rock back and forth on his heels as he heard her swimming about. After what seemed a half and hour, he heard the sounds of her withdrawing from the waters. The patters of water splashing the ground made his heart beat even faster, and the bulge in his shorts was growing more uncomfortable by the second. She approached him and reached around to get the clothes. When she had finished dressing, she told him it was okay for him to turn around. Oh, what a sight he had. Apparently she was not aware that her gown was see through when it was wet, and he could see the hard, light brown pebbles poking through her gown as it clung to her form. He could see her black panties as well, and to Severus' horror, he allowed a soft moan to escape his lips. She looked up at him from her action wringing of her wet hair. Her sheen eyes widened as they rested on the lump in his boxers. As she drew her head level with his, she held her breath, flinching when his hand moved. But it didn't reach out for her. Instead it snapped the soap out of her hand, dropping it to the ground. Stopped by the unexpectedness of his action and her own momentary shock, Aletta wasn't able to move. The suggestive intimacy of their appearances and the romantic environment, isolated from civilization, washed over like shockwaves.  
  
"Once you trap a butterfly-" his low voice was closer, a soft and seductive weapon, and she gasped as his hands gripped her shoulders "-you must take it by the wings."  
  
"Let me go!" she cried breathlessly, frightened by her sudden desire to lean submissively against his taut chest. She tried to wrench free of his grip, but Severus used her twisting motion to pivot her around, easily drawing her unbalanced body against his.  
  
His dark head bent and he brushed his mouth against the sensitive skin below her right ear. Aletta couldn't control the shudder of delight. The heady male scent of him enveloped her, earthy and clean. Tilting her head to one side, she tried to elude his provocative caress, but only succeeded in exposing more of her neck to his exploring mouth.   
  
"No," she pleaded, shaking back the feathery length of her wet, gold hair and increasing the pressure of her hands that strained against his chest.   
  
Snape laughed softly, a deep delicious sound that shivered down her spine. His mouth lifted to the averted line of her jaw.   
  
"Isn't this the way you planned it, Aletta?" he taunted. His warm breath fanned across the already hot skin of her cheek.  
  
"I didn't plan this," she protested in a desperate whisper. Her eyes were beginning to adjust to the softness of the bright sun streaming through the trees.  
  
"You didn't plan to make me want you?" Snape jeered. Aletta breathed sharply. "I know you did. The idea has been in the back of your mind since the first time we met. Everything you've done has been calculated to blind me with desire for you so you could twist me around your finger, take what you wanted and fly away."  
  
"No," Aletta gulped.  
  
She bent her head backward, trying again to escape the disturbing nearness of his mouth. Strong fingers spread across the small of her back, molding her arching body more fully against the male vigor of his. A dizzying weakness spread through her limbs. Her tightly closed lashes fluttered open, focusing her gaze on his rugged features. Half-closed eyes studied her upturned face with a black fire that stole her breath.   
  
"You look like some simulacrum goddess," Snape murmured deeply, "with those zealous lips and those eyes dazzling with starfire."  
  
"Please!" she begged to be released, despite the growing desire between her legs.  
  
A hand curled its fingers in the long sodden hair at the back of her neck. Aletta knew his mouth would tantalize her lips no longer and she started to struggle against the inevitable. But the hand on her neck wouldn't allow her to avoid his kiss. Her hammering fists glance harmlessly off his chest and shoulders.  
  
At last his conquering mouth had her fingers curling into the thin material of his thin shirt, clinging to him weakly in surrender. Snape wasn't content with submission as he parted her lips with persuasive mastery, exploring her mouth until Aletta responded with demanding hunger.   
  
Reason was banished completely under the molding caress of his hands. There was only the whirling, mindless ecstasy of his embrace urging her to new heights of sensual awareness. She was achingly conscience of her need for physical gratification, and the hard maleness of Severus made her aware of his.  
  
The trailing fire of his lips burned over eyes, cheek and throat, branding her as his possession, and she didn't deny it. Her hands were around his neck, fingers winding into the sleek blackness of his hair.  
  
His hard mouth closed again over hers, uniting their flames into a roaring fire of passion that sang in her ears.  
  
Like a drowning person, Aletta made one last attempt to be saved when his mouth blazed a path to the hollow of her throat.  
  
"I can't-"  
  
Her thoughts were too chaotic. What couldn't she do? She couldn't stop. She couldn't think. She couldn't breathe. She couldn't exist without the wildfire of his touch.  
  
"I'm insane," she ended with a sighing groan.  
  
His head lifted briefly, fingers sliding to her throat. "That's the way I want you to be," Snape muttered harshly. "Driven to madness until you can think of nothing else but me." He spoke against her lips, his mouth moving mobilely over them in a caress that was designed to make her ache for his kiss. "I want your wings to be singed so you can't fly away until sundown."  
  
Aletta breathed in sharply, knowing she didn't every want to fly away yet realizing how dangerous it would be to give in to her emotions so completely.  
  
"The . . . tent," she offered in a protest.  
  
Snape's mouth shut off her words until she stopped caring about the tent. Only then did he answer.  
  
"It'll be enjoying the privacy. It won't miss you. I doubt if it even expected me back today."  
  
Weakly Aletta shook her head, but unable to deny the silly truth of what he said. Lowering her head, she felt his lips against her hair, their moistness tangling in the silken gold.  
  
"Severus, I-"  
  
The support of his hard masculine body was taken away from her and she swayed toward him. Her movement was checked as an arm slid under her knees and she was lifted into the air, cradled against his chest. Automatically her hands circled his neck.  
  
As he turned toward a small brush of feathery plants, a shaft of the gleaming sun glittered over his face. The strength of purpose stamped in the forceful, handsome lines caught at Aletta's throat. Nothing could stop him. The same primitive mood had her in its spell and she knew she didn't want to try to prevent what seemed so inevitable and paradoxically so right.  
  
Sitting on the side of the brush, Severus held her on his lap. His face was in the shadows of the trees, but she knew those onyx eyes were studying her. This was her last chance to protest. Instead her fingers began exploring the blunt angles of his features, feather soft and caressing.   
  
He seemed to be prolonging the moment when he claimed her as if to make the possession sweeter. Feeling wantonly bold, Aletta leaned forward and pressed her lips against his mouth. It curved briefly under her touch into a complacent smile.   
  
"It seems this pile of plants isn't made for two," Severus murmured huskily, the grooves around his mouth deepening in satisfaction, "but today I don't think either one of us will care."  
  
An almost inaudible moan of complete surrender slipped from her throat as Severus bent her backward onto the soft ground. His hand slid intimately from her thigh to her hip and along to the curve of her breast. The pressing weight of his male body followed her down, his mouth unerringly and possessively finding hers. Aletta was lost in an erotic dreamworld of sensations that she never wanted to end. She succumbed with rapturous delight to each new touch.  
  
Suddenly a rustle came from a bush nearby and Aletta's head moved in protest to its disturbance. The rustle became louder as it seemed to be coming closer to their entangled bodies. Reason and sanity came back with shocking swiftness as Aletta tried to twist from beneath Snape's weight. He checked the movement easily.  
  
"No," his low voice commanded near her ear. "You know you don't really want to stop."  
  
"Yes . . . no." The conflicting answers were crazily the truth as Aletta was torn in two by her emotions.   
  
Aletta's hands pushed frantically against the stone wall of his chest. "What is it?" she whispered desperately.  
  
His warm breath moved over her cheek in silent laughter. "It's probably just a snake, though you know it maybe mine," he mocked, his mouth following the curve of her throat to the tantalizing hollow between her breasts.  
  
"N-n-no!" Her protest was shaken by the violent surge of desire brought on by his intimate touch.  
  
The rustling in the dirt died away as the creature moved away from the couple.   
  
"I went away," Snape murmured against her skin.  
  
"B-but it'll come back," Aletta moaned softly, her hands still straining against him. "Please let me go."  
  
"No," his fingers closed over her chin, holding it motionless as his mouth closed over hers in a drugging kiss that sent her floating nearly all the way back to her dreamworld.  
  
The snap of a hoof splintered through her. The alert tensing of Severus' muscles told her he had heard it too, but he didn't lift his mouth from hers nor allow her protesting lips to twist away.  
  
"Severus, let her go," a deep voice said from beside them.  
  
Another snap, louder than before, made his hold relax slightly as he raised his head, his gaze glittering, holding Aletta's pleading gray eyes. Hot waves of shame licked through her veins. Instead of looking for the ingredients for Ron, they were laying there snogging.  
  
"Get out of here, Chiron," Snape ordered smoothly.  
  
Tearing her eyes away from his face, Aletta twisted her head toward the brooding centaur, his tall horse form outlined by the light streaming through the trees. Her throat worked convulsively, but nothing came out. Part of her didn't want to be rescued.   
  
"You can't do it, Snape," Chiron sighed, but with firm conviction.   
  
"Can't I?" he jeered arrogantly. "The lady is more than willing," he added with sarcastic emphasis.  
  
"Let her go."  
  
He smiled coolly down at Aletta. "She's free to leave," he rolled away from her, only a hand remaining spread on her stomach as a wicked black light held her gaze captive, "if she really wants to leave."  
  
Perhaps if he hadn't been so confident she would stay or if he had asked her not to leave him, Aletta would have remained where she was. Instead, with a frightened sob at what a fool she had nearly made of herself, she scrambled to her feet.  
  
Two wavering steps toward the path were all she had taken before the soft flesh of her upper arms was seized in a biting grip. Weakly she allowed herself to be pulled back against his chest, her head lolling against his shoulder, unable to deny the disturbance his touch caused.  
  
"Severus," Chiron warned swiftly.  
  
"No, she can go," he interrupted in an ominously low voice laced with contempt. "She and I both know that I wasn't seducing her. She was letting me seduce her. Almost since the day she came, she's been inviting me to make love to her, deliberately holding back so she could twist me around her finger. She knew I found her as physically and mentally attractive as any man would and she intended to used that attraction to get what she wanted. Isn't that right, Aletta?" he demanded savagely.  
  
She didn't have the strength to argue with his lies, so she did the only thing she could do. "Yes, yes, that's right," she lied in a breathy whisper.  
  
"But I'm not twisted around your finger." The derisive jeer slashed at her pride. "I take what I want and when I'm through with it, I throw it away." He released her with a slight push toward the path and Chiron. "You can go. But I'm not quite through with you yet."  
  
With that half-threat and half-promise ringing in the air, Aletta stumbled forward. Chiron wrapped a supporting arm around her shoulders and led her from the river. Drained of all emotion except the cold feeling of dread, Aletta was barely aware of the centaur's presence.   
  
"I'll take you to the tent," said Chiron.  
  
Aletta was suddenly conscience of how disheveled she must look. Her clothes were in a revealing state of disarray and her lips swollen from his passionate kisses. She knew she had the look of a woman who had been made love to. A sob strangled her throat. She very nearly had!  
  
She cast a surreptitious glace at the centaur, wondering what this proud creature thought of her. The only part of Snape's accusation that had been correct was when he said she had been inviting him to make love to her, though holding back to have fun with him. Though she had never planned to make Severus want her so badly he would do anything.   
  
When they reached the tent, Aletta caught the look of gentle compassion in Chiron's dark eyes. In shame and humiliation, she knew guiltily that she didn't deserve his understanding.   
  
"I'm all right," Aletta asserted forcefully, averting her face from the centaur's concerned gaze. Her legs now strong enough to deny the need for a supporting arm, Aletta stepped forward. "Would you tell Severus that . . . that I have a headache and need to be alone?"  
  
"I'll see that you're not disturbed," Chiron nodded perceptively, "by anyone."  
  
By anyone, who else would there be? She thought. And she didn't doubt that the centaur would figuratively stand guard at her door. When Chiron left, Aletta buried her face in her hands, but she didn't cry.  
  
Hysterical laughter sobbed in her throat. She barely smothered it with her hand. The irony of the situation struck her forcibly. All along she had believed Severus was chasing her. Instead, he had thought that she had been chasing him.   
  
Never once in her profession had she ever seriously, undoubtedly, considered the possibility that she might fall in love with Severus. Yet that was exactly what she had done. She knew it was clearly and as certainly as she knew her own name.   
  
Tonight had not been the result of a sudden desire for physical experience or the arousing attention of an experienced lover. They were a potent combination but not an explanation for her complete abandonment of reason. Love was the answer, no matter how foolish and painful the emotion might be.  
  
A/N- Is that long enough? I wrote from 9:00 PM till midnight. Hope you liked it! It's my first attempt at . . . shall I say. . . intimate writing. 


	22. I'd Rather Be In Love

Chapter 22- I'd Rather Be In Love  
  
I cannot help it   
  
I couldn't stop it if I tried   
  
The same old heartbeat fills the emptiness I have inside   
  
And I've heard that you can't fight love, so I won't complain   
  
'Cause why would I stop the fire that keeps me going on?  
  
'Cause when there's you, I feel whole   
  
And there's no better feeling in the world   
  
But without you I'm alone   
  
And I'd rather be in love with you  
  
Turn out the lights now   
  
To see is to believe   
  
I just want you near me   
  
I just want you here with me   
  
And I'd give up everything only for you   
  
It's the least that I could do  
  
'Cause when there's you, I feel whole   
  
And there's no better feeling in the world   
  
But without you I'm alone   
  
And I'd rather be in love with you  
  
And I feel you holding me  
  
Why are we afraid to be in love?   
  
To be loved   
  
I can't explain it   
  
I know it's tough to be loved  
  
And I feel you holding me  
  
Oh, oh   
  
And when there's you, I feel whole   
  
And there's no better feeling in the world   
  
But without you I'm alone  
  
And I'd rather be in love   
  
Yes, I'd rather be in love   
  
Oh I'd rather be in love with you  
  
And I feel you holding me, oh.  
  
Lightening flashed through the massive windows of the Great Hall and emblazed the bodies of two professors. Thunder boomed vociferously, causing objects upon the tables to rattle. All tables, except the solitary table in the middle of the hall, were aligned among the walls and off the beaten track. Students began to file in, despite their alarm of the ominous storm that roared outside the castle walls.   
  
"Sirius, are you sure we should do this tonight?" one of the professors asked, as she paced back and forth upon the centered table. "I mean, did the headmaster even tell you that it was okay for us to start it now?"  
  
Black tousled hair was flipped back and the professor was met with a dashing, white-toothed smile. "Of course, Maya! I wouldn't do something without permission, as you learned on the night we met."  
  
Maya Claire rolled her eyes at him before she acknowledged the students that were now gathered around the table, "We should get started."  
  
Sirius Black whipped his wand out of his robe pocket and smiled. "I already have, my dear."  
  
Maya snorted and took out her own wand as Sirius began a welcoming speech to the assemblage of children. "Welcome students, to your first meeting at the Dueling Club. Since your beloved Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, and your . . . not-so-loved Potions Master are not able to be here, Professor Claire and I will be teaching it instead."  
  
There were a few grunts of approval and some encouraging yells when he made the announcement. Since the meeting had started, the demeanor of the students had brightened up slightly.  
  
"As you can presumably tell," Maya started, "the headmaster has agreed to reopen the Dueling Club so you may protect and guard yourselves from the evils of the wizarding world."  
  
"Some of you might be saying," Sirius added, "that the need for guarding yourselves against evil will not be very important in your lives now, considering the downfall of Voldemort," some shuddered at the name, but Sirius ignored them, "Though it may become useful when you need to teach someone a lesson. Another person, perhaps, who had called you a prick the day before."  
  
The students laughed along with Sirius, and Maya said his name threateningly, though she could not suppress her smirk.  
  
"Anyway, let us begin," Sirius said joyfully with a wave of his hands.   
  
The students gathered more closely around the table, all of their inspecting eyes on the two, skilled professors. Maya walked up to Sirius with her wand as he approached her.   
  
"Now Professor Claire and I will perform a small demonstration," Sirius informed as he now stood in front of Maya.  
  
The two professors bowed and Sirius said quietly so that only she could hear, "I will be gentle, Maya."  
  
Maya rolled her eyes again and said, "And I you, Sirius."  
  
They took their paces from one another and Sirius said loudly, "Wands at the ready," Maya swung her wand over her head and so did Sirius. "One. . . . Two. . . . Three!"  
  
"Locomotor mortis!" Sirius yelled as he struck his wand out.  
  
Maya ducked before the sparks hit her and she yelled, "Expelliarmus!"  
  
Sirius allowed it to disarm him and Maya glared at him.  
  
"I could have, by all means, beaten young, Professor Claire with ease," Sirius said to the students jokingly as Maya smirked at his ego. "Though it would have taken up our time since Professor Claire would have put up a superior fight."  
  
Maya smiled and bowed her head at him in agreement as the students chuckled.   
  
"Now," Sirius began after he gave Maya a dashing smile, "Professor Claire and I will start to assemble you into pairs of two," he winked at Harry Potter, "when we have finished, you will stand with your partner a good five feet from another pair of partners."  
  
Maya smiled at Sirius as he nodded at her to begin putting together pairs. She turned to the other side of the table and walked over to a blonde, pointy nosed boy surrounded by two of his thick cronies.   
  
"Crabbe, you will be with Goyle," she said to the two heavy boys who smiled and walked away. "Malfoy, you will be paired up with . . .," she glanced around in his area and saw a pretty, emerald eyed blonde, "Trinity."  
  
The girl's head swerved to Maya and acknowledged her call. "Trinity, you and Malfoy will do."  
  
Raine Trinity rolled her eyes and didn't even attempt to stop her sigh of annoyance. "Can't I pair up with Cho?"  
  
Maya smiled and said, "No, I think Professor Black has already paired her up with Potter."  
  
Raine huffed again and walked over to Draco Malfoy, who was smirking with pride. "This will be no contest."  
  
Raine glared at his smug face and said, "I know."  
  
Draco squinted his eyes and sneered at her before he walked away to Crabbe and Goyle. Raine assumed that she was supposed to follow, but waited until he was a good five feet away to proceed. When they were together about five feet from Crabbe and Goyle, and Harry and Cho, they stood facing each other with looks of utmost loathing.   
  
"Should I take it easy on you, Trinity?" Malfoy jeered as he eyed her carefully with his cool, sheen eyes. "Or do you want me to perform on you the best I can?"  
  
Raine realized the insinuation and smirked at him, "Your best, Malfoy, would be taking it easy on me anyway."  
  
Malfoy gave her a jeering smile and said, "We'll see about that, Raine."  
  
She was taken aback by his use of her first name, but couldn't help the shiver in her body from when it danced off of his soft lips. Raine gasped silently when she saw him quickly move his arm, but realized he was only pulling up his sleeves. The sight she saw amazed her. Bruises and bashes marked his arms perceptibly, and she let out an audible gasp. Draco's silver eyes jumped up to look at her, irritation in their depths along with, what seemed to be, grief. But it was soon enclosed by his rage.  
  
"What?" he asked dangerously as he studied her bright green, depths of despair.   
  
Raine tried not to look down at his arms but found that she couldn't keep her eyes off of them. She brought her pale hand to his bruised, right arm and rubbed it soothingly.   
  
"What happened to you?" she breathed, and he wrenched his arm from her touch.  
  
"Ever heard of Quidditch?" he asked sarcastically.   
  
Raine gave him a sad smile and said, "I play Quidditch, Malfoy, and I know that this is not from it."  
  
"Just forget it, okay?" he said fiercely as he yanked his sleeves down. "Apparently I can't keep these up or else you'll get all peculiar on me."  
  
"I'm not being peculiar," she said hotly. "I just wanted to know how you got those marks."  
  
"And what I have to say to that is it's none of your damn business!" he sneered.  
  
Raine didn't bother him any further, but knew that now he said that, it wasn't from Quidditch. She couldn't help but be extremely concerned for him.   
  
Sirius walked back up onto the table and had everyone's attention once again, though Raine's mind was still on Draco's arms.   
  
"Now that everyone is all set, what I want you to do is bow to one another," Sirius said and all of the students bowed. "Now take ten paces back," everyone did so. "Wands at the ready," the students were set. "Now remember that we don't want any injuries, therefore this is to disarm only. Ready . . . set. . . go!"  
  
Yells of the disarming spell reverberated around the hall. All of the groups had a winner, except for Raine and Draco. Both of their wands and flown together in the middle of them. Raine looked up and Draco and he her. Suddenly, Draco ran as fast as he could toward his wand.  
  
"No you don't!" Raine yelled as she ran toward him and leapt at him before he could reach his wand.   
  
The two wrestled on the ground ineffectively until Draco had successfully mounted Raine and had his hands on her shoulders. "Looks like I've got you were I want you."  
  
Raine gave him a fake smile and reached her hands up to his shoulders and flipped him onto his back. She held him at his hands.  
  
"You know," she said conversationally, even though she was out of breath, "it's a lot more useful when you hold a person at the hands."  
  
Raine smiled at him and he, amazingly, smiled back. They could hear footsteps' approaching them and Raine was suddenly hauled off of Draco in a pair of strong arms.   
  
"This is a Dueling Club," Sirius laughed. "Not a Snogging Club."  
  
Maya's huff came from behind Sirius and he added quietly, "Though we have held a meeting or two for that one, haven't we Maya."  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *   
  
  
  
Water started to drizzle down to the soft banks of the river as flicker of light flashed over the calm scenery of the forest. A small rumble of thunder followed the flash, causing the ground to quiver flippantly. Another flare of lightening illustrated a dark haired man; shivering slightly as a soft graze of cool air brushed over his insipid, clean skin. The next roll of thunder was louder than the former; causing the man to lift his head from his hands and gaze into the murky, overcast sky. As brightness sparked again, it highlighted his somber eyes, his soul showing through all the murkiness and remote. It was a gloomy soul, showing the sweet misery he now felt for a loss so saccharine. The light rain turned to a downpour and he pulled his white t-shirt over his head. The safe haven that he once had was not welcome to him anymore, especially the loveliness in it. He would be damned if she loved him, because he positively did not love her . . .   
  
Something he had told himself for a lengthy time; he did not love her. But if it was factual, then why did he have to inform himself of it so frequently to be content? For some odd reason, he had not convinced himself entirely that he did not love her. His mind believed it . . . but his heart and soul didn't. Follow your heart, the children's books say. But he didn't have a heart, or so he believed. He could not love one and be loved in return. It was preposterous . . . unattainable.   
  
A clicking of hooves disrupted his thoughts. The man brought down his shirt from his head and it wetly stuck to his chest. He was greeted with a soaked Chiron.   
  
"Severus," the centaur said softly. "We need to talk."  
  
Severus sneered at the animal and said, "There is nothing to discuss, therefore we cannot talk!"  
  
Chiron walked closer and informed quietly, "She loves you."  
  
Hearing the word caught him off guard and he glared up at Chiron. "What?"  
  
"You heard me."  
  
Severus glared at him and said, "I'd like to see you prove it."  
  
Chiron's eyes became ablaze with fire and he yelled, "Are you so blind with ignorance? How could she not love you? If she didn't, she would have come to me in a heartbeat. But no, she stayed, and she wanted to stay!"  
  
Severus stood up quickly, his eyes shooting daggers at the centaur, "She is a whore! The way she had acted around me was begging for me to take her! But only to get what she wants!"  
  
"And what does she want, Severus?" Chiron shouted as he stamped his hoof in fury.  
  
Severus glared at Chiron, his nostrils flaring as he failed to seek out an answer. Finally, he collapsed down on the rock "I don't know."  
  
Chiron's muscles relaxed. "Exactly. You. Don't. Know."  
  
The two men were silent, Severus heart beating wildly as he mused about Aletta.   
  
"Why did you make up that story about her doing things to get what she wants? It makes no sense, Severus-"  
  
"-I know!" Severus yelled. "It was the only way I could explain for my attraction to her. But she confessed to it!"  
  
Chiron shook his head and said, "You know she didn't mean it," Severus shook his head in confusion, "Why, Severus? Why all this trouble?"  
  
"Because I love her!" Snape shouted automatically without thinking.   
  
Chiron smiled. "I know, Severus. I know."  
  
With one last smile, Chiron galloped off with Severus yelling at himself, saying he didn't know why he had said it.   
  
A/N- Does this chapter suck? Tell me if it does. Thanks for reading it! 


	23. Please Forgive Me

Chapter 23- Please Forgive Me  
  
Daylight shone its beams of brilliance through the infirmary's gargantuan windows, illuminating the ginger hair of a boy who was fast asleep on a cot. Footsteps were heard, though no display of a maneuvering person gave proof to them. Bright blue eyes squinted into the morning light rays, his face twisting into confusion as he heard the scuffling of feet and urgent whispers. Ronald Weasley sat up, gazing at his surroundings with no idea where the sounds were coming from.   
  
Suddenly two heads appeared in the air. The first one was a boy of about Ron's age. He had jet-black hair and emerald-green eyes, which were now affixed upon Ron with a look of excitement.   
  
"Ron!" he called silently. "You're actually awake! You usually sleep in all the time."  
  
He glanced around and when he saw that no one else was present, he threw a cloak off of his and the other persons body. Ron glanced at the girl next to the boy. She had fluffy, brown hair and chocolate brown eyes. She was smiling at him with, what seemed to be, tears in her eyes.  
  
"Oh, Ron!" she exclaimed happily. "It's so good to see you! It's taken us forever to get in here. Madame Pomfrey wouldn't let you have any visitors!"  
  
As the two people stared at him excitedly, they were only met with a confused one.   
  
"Who are you?" Ron asked slowly, his eyes scrunched up in bewilderment. "I mean . . . I don't even know your names! And how did you do that disappearing thing?"  
  
Their smiles faded and the girl exclaimed to boy, "Of course! How could we be so stupid!" she then turned to Ron. "I'm Hermione Granger, and this is-"  
  
"Harry. Harry Potter," the boy added quickly. "Hermione, this is weird," he added to the girl.   
  
Hermione nodded, her bushy curls fluffing around her face. "I know. But there's no way he will be able to revive his memory until Dumbledore and Snape return."  
  
"Where are they, anyway?" Harry said with a hint of anger in his voice, though directed more at Snape than Aletta.  
  
Hermione shrugged. "Dumbledore wouldn't tell us, remember? Though I'm sure they'll arrive soon, wherever they are."  
  
Harry started to pace and said irately, "But it's been five weeks, 'Mione! How can it take that long to get whatever it is they need to restore Ron's memory?"  
  
Hermione threw her hands up in annoyance and said, "Like I said, we have no idea where or how long the journey is supposed to take! Though I'm also a bit afraid at the length of time, Harry. I don't think the school believes the story about Ron being sick, anymore."  
  
Harry nodded in agreement, "Though you have to admit, we've kept the secret good since the school is just starting to get suspicious."  
  
Hermione laughed nervously at the joke. Ron had watched the two, becoming more and more confused.  
  
"Am I supposed to know you guys?" Ron asked curiously with a look of pure innocence in his eyes.   
  
Hermione smiled sadly and said, "Oh, Ron. You'll know soon enough who we are," she then looked at Harry forlornly and added, "I hope."  
  
Harry gave a small smile and nodded in agreement.  
  
  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *   
  
So if you're feelin' lonely ... don't  
  
You're the only one I'd ever want  
  
I only wanna make it good  
  
So if I love ya a little more than I should...  
  
Please forgive me - I know not what I do  
  
Please forgive me - I can't stop lovin' you  
  
don't deny me - this pain I'm going through  
  
Please forgive me - if I need ya like I do  
  
Please believe me - every word I say is true  
  
Please forgive me - I can't stop lovin' you.  
  
-Excerpt from "Please Forgive Me" by, Bryan Adams  
  
The thunder, soon enough, diminished as the sunlight of a new day began to rise. Aletta's upper body was strewn across the desk in a heap, her arms spread across every way. She was tired, and only when she woke up did she realize it. Her head quickly turned to Severus' sleeping spot, but he was not there. A pang of guilt sprang into her heart. She had wanted to be left alone, but not to the extent that he would stay out all night. Aletta's body and soul ached for his presence, his touch . . . his love. If only he had swept her into his arms and declared an undying love to her, she would have given herself to him completely without any doubt or hesitation. Aletta knew she loved him ever since her conscience forced her away from his offering state, but for some reason, her love for him wasn't enough. To love and be loved in return was what she had been searching for her whole life. And if Severus loved her, she could not ask for more.   
  
The rustling of leaves was heard outside the tent, and Aletta's heart seemed to skip a thousand beats. Maybe it's Chiron, she thought. But there was just as good a chance that it was the object of her affection.  
  
A dark figure opened the flap of the tent, and she knew then that it was he. His exalted appearance stepped over the threshold, soaking wet in his boxer shorts, his white t-shirt in hand. Severus approached his suitcase without even glancing at Aletta's disheveled state, and pulled out clothes that usually situated his attire. The more Aletta gazed at him, the more tears that began to fall. She didn't know why, but his presence was enough to make all the earlier detained tears flow willingly. She must have sniffed, for his dark gaze looked her way as he pulled on his black robe.  
  
"You're upset." It was visibly a statement, not an inquiry.  
  
Aletta looked up at him from her hands and said with glazed eyes, "Not really."  
  
Severus buttoned up his robe and approached her slowly. He seated himself across from Aletta to her surprise, and took her hand in his.  
  
"Forgive me," he said softly, truly.  
  
His gloomy depths bore into her own, his face somber and regretful. With that said, he dropped her hand somewhat reluctantly and stood up.   
  
"Coffee?" he asked as he set a boiler of water on the stove. "I had fortunately discovered a . . . what is the bloody thing called," he pulled a plastic container out of the cupboard and read it, "Instant Coffee resting in the back of the highest cupboard," he frowned and turned it around in his hands, "Those muggles make an 'instant' for everything, don't they?"  
  
Aletta, still dumbstruck by his behavior, nodded with a small smile. And the two professors continued the rest of the morning as though yesterday never happened. But what they both didn't know was that it was still very much on the other's mind.  
  
A/N- I promise that the next chapter will be much longer. 


	24. I Will Not Let Thee Go

Chapter 24- I Will Not Let Thee Go  
  
A/N: I advise you to read this poem in the beginning. It is very significant to this chapter, and you might be able to appreciate some of the parts better. Especially pay attention to the first and last stanza. In addition, it's a beautiful poem, and the poetic part of your mind can be enriched with a new flavor! Thank you.  
  
I will not let thee go.   
  
Ends all our month-long love in this?   
  
Can it be summed up so,   
  
Quit in a single kiss?   
  
I will not let thee go.  
  
I will not thee go.   
  
If thy words' breath could scare thy deed,   
  
as the soft south can blow   
  
and toss the feathered seeds,   
  
then might I let thee go?  
  
I will not let thee go.   
  
Had not the great sun seen, I might;   
  
or were he reckoned slow   
  
to bring the false to light,   
  
Then might I let thee go.  
  
I will not let you go.   
  
The stars that crowd the summer skies   
  
have watched us so below   
  
with all their million eyes,   
  
I dare not let thee go.  
  
I will not let thee go.   
  
Have we not chid the changeful moon,   
  
now rising late, and now   
  
because she set too soon,   
  
and shall I let thee go?  
  
I will not let thee go.   
  
Have not the young flowers been content,   
  
Plucked ere their buds could blow,   
  
to seal our sacrament?   
  
I cannot let thee go.  
  
I will not let thee go.   
  
I hold thee by too many bands:   
  
Thou sayest farewell, and lo!   
  
I have thee by the hands,   
  
and will not let thee go.  
  
- I Will Not Let Thee Go  
  
by Robert Bridges (1844-1930)  
  
"Bloody thorns," Aletta heard Severus growled as they made their way through a rose coppice.   
  
"Why did we choose this path, then," Aletta said jokingly as a spike stabbed her right hand.   
  
Snape halted and turned to glare at her, "If I knew a way of avoiding them, we wouldn't bloody be walking through here, would we?"  
  
Aletta shook her head as she started to laugh, "Relax, Snape. I'm only kidding," she looked down at her hand where the thorn was still stuck in her skin, and blood started to trickle down her hand gently.   
  
Snape must have noticed, for he started to approach her, cursing at the bushes as he made his way. When he approached her he took her hand in his the same way he did that morning and lugged the thorn from her skin. She let out a painful gasp as he tossed the thorn on the ground.   
  
"Does it hurt?" he asked so gently that she looked up to see if it was really he.  
  
Aletta shrugged nonchalantly as she gazed into his eyes and whispered, "I guess."  
  
So many times were they in this situation where they could not pull their gazes from each other, and Aletta felt so many urges to leap upon him and confess her love. But that was way too dramatic for her, and she didn't even know if she wanted to tell him of her feelings. To tell him, and to be laughed or growled at in a reply, was something she couldn't endure. And she was determined not to take that hurting chance.  
  
Severus looked away grudgingly and started to rip a piece of his robe off, causing Aletta to gasp inwardly. When he had ripped off a long size of the cloth, he started to bandage her bleeding hand with it.   
  
"You didn't need to do that-" she started breathlessly, but he interrupted her.  
  
"We foolishly left the bandages behind in the tent, as well as many other antibiotics and healing potions."  
  
Aletta nodded in understanding and pulled her hand to her chest when he was done. The strong male scent of him was an erotic stimulus she didn't want to feel. And Severus' next move helped diminish it effortlessly.   
  
"Every rose," he began silkily as he studied her with his menacing, black eyes, "has its thorns."  
  
Aletta frowned as he turned his back to her to walk on. That upset her, even though he was simply stating a cliché. But he had meant it to describe her, hurt her . . .injure her, and it succeeded.   
  
She saw ahead of her, the dark figure of Severus moving on. She never wanted to face him again. Not because of the dull truism, but because of everything. Yesterday's events, her frustrating love for him, his confusing demeanor. Running away and never looking back was such a welcoming performance to her at that moment. She couldn't face the confusion any more, the pain, the misery. In her heart she could what he was doing to her. Yesterday, he made a wild, glorious song burst in her heart. His endearing soul was pulling her into a promise of heaven and beyond. But had he meant it to do that?  
  
"Aletta?"   
  
Her eyes widened with surprise when she heard him call her name from afar. Her indignant eyes turned to meet his outline, which was further away than before. She ran after him, not paying attention to the jabs and pokes she received from the bushes. Her clothing was being somewhat ripped in the process, and when she approached him, she was met with an arched eyebrow.  
  
"Enjoy being thrashed up, I see?" he jeered as he looked over her slashed attire.   
  
Aletta ignored the sarcasm and said, "Where are we going anyway?"   
  
"We are about to do a crazy attempt at collecting the Selimare's poison," he said as he broke a rickety, old branch off of a nearby tree.   
  
"I see," this is it, she said, it's now or never, "Severus, I have to tell you something."  
  
Severus broke another branch and said unemotionally, "Can't it wait?"  
  
Unbearable bastard, she thought, but that's why I love him.  
  
She smiled. "No, it really can't."  
  
Severus thrust one of the branches at her and she barely caught it. "What the hell are you doing?" she asked angrily.  
  
"Using the resources around us for weapons," he answered almost robotically. "Now tell me what you need to quickly so we can move onto more important things."  
  
Aletta frowned at him and took a deep breath. Her feet somehow carried her over in front of him, despite her fear. She started to say it, but all that came out was a gurgle.  
  
"I beg your pardon?" Snape asked with annoyance, as she blushed even more.  
  
She tried again, but all that came out was stuttering. Why is this so hard to do? she asked herself.   
  
"I . . . you see . . . I," she kept trying, but Snape was losing his patience with incredible speed.  
  
"Spit it out, woman!" he shouted as he jabbed the ground with his branch.  
  
Urged on by his shout, Aletta took all of his strength and bawled, "I LOVE YOU!"  
  
Before Severus could even comprehend her words, he saw a long, scaly body leap onto Aletta from the tree behind her and she shrieked with wholesome fright. Severus lunged his arms onto the critter that was wrapped around Aletta's neck and started to pull with all his might. It wasn't loosening, so he decided that killing it would be the only way to keep it from strangling her. But before he could pull his knife from his boot, the snake buried its white fangs into Aletta's arm. She screamed with all her might, and the snake unraveled itself from her neck and started to slither toward Severus. Before it could strike him, he pulled his knife out, but realized it was his wand. The snake lunged forward, and Severus rolled out of the way just in time. He threw his powerless wand to the side and started to sprint toward the river. The huge, green snake followed him with as much speed, snapping its fangs fiercely at Severus feet. When he reached the river, he lunged into it, searching for some sort of weapon with his feet. The snake hissed angrily and started to slither into the water. Closer and closer it came to its prey, and when it stopped right in front of Severus, it didn't realize the large rock Severus had in his clutch under the water. The snake coiled back, ready to strike. But just before it lunged, Severus used all his might to maneuver the rock above the snake and pushed it down on its head. Under the water, the snake's tail swiveled and swiveled as its head was crushed under the massive rock.   
  
Severus stood there, rasping and panting like he had just learned to breathe. He pulled himself out of the river, relieved that the snake was gone. But his heart virtually stopped then and there when he heard Aletta's aggrieved cries coming from under the tree. He raced as fast as he could back to her gasping body. When he finally reached her, he threw himself down at her side and looked into her anguishing expression. His gaze then fell over her wound, bleeding mercilessly and soaking the ground. He pulled her body to his and wrapped his arms around her. He lifted her arm to his mouth and was about to suck the poison out of the punctures when she stopped him.   
  
"I'm not going to make it, Severus," she rasped in a breathless voice into his ear as she reached her unwounded arm to his face, and pulled back to look at him. "But this is the way I would want it to be. To die in your arms."  
  
Severus eyes widened as he heard her.  
  
"No, no, no," Severus whispered as he clung her to him. "You're going to be fine. It's just a flesh wound."  
  
Aletta barely laughed at him and said, "But I can feel the poison, Severus. It's coursing through my veins as we speak."  
  
Severus let all his guard down. This woman that lie in his arms was the one he loved. He undoubtedly knew it now. Damn all his hardness to hell, he loved her with all his heart.  
  
"I'm in love with you," he whispered gently as he looked into her half-lidded eyes. "You cannot leave me. I will not let you."  
  
Aletta smiled at him and asked with bated breath, "Severus, do you truly love me?"  
  
"Oh Merlin, so much," he rasped sharply as he put his forehead to hers. "Seeing you in pain makes my foolish brain listen to my heart. And what my heart was saying, is that I love you."  
  
A tear escaped Aletta's eye, and Severus swooped his head down to kiss it away. "You are my first love, Aletta. And I will never let you go."  
  
Aletta laughed lightly and said, "But I am dying, Severus."  
  
"You are not going to die, Aletta," he said with anger in his voice. "And even if you did, death cannot stop my love for you."  
  
Aletta's eyes suddenly closed fully and she whispered to him, "Promise me one thing, Severus."  
  
"Anything," he answered quickly, ready to do anything and everything she asked.  
  
"Will you tell my family, and Maya that I love them?" she asked, but no tears were shed from her eyes, but a smile was on her face, a smile of content.  
  
"Of course," Severus breathed as he held her tighter to her chest.  
  
"Thank you, Severus. For everything," she sighed for the last time.   
  
Aletta's breathing became slower by the second, and Severus was finally sure that she was going to indeed die. Uncharacteristically, his eyes started to tear up and he ashamedly let them fall. The tears only increased in speed when he felt her last breath sigh against his chest. Her once clinging body was now lifeless, and he now felt half of his sorrow be replaced by anger. Severus murmured incomprehensibly to himself and shed tears silently as he rocked her inert body back and forth in his arms. It should have been me, he wished silently as he foolishly believed she would somehow open her eyes and live again. He was angry with himself. Angry that he had instead made an effort to kill the snake instead of rush to her side and save her. He felt like the Death Eater he once was, killing and murdering innocent people that deserved to live more than him. He cursed the heavens and himself for removing her beautiful life away from her. He hated himself so much he could not stand to look at her innocent beauty. The woman he had killed with his own hateful self-centeredness and harshness. From now on, he knew that this was the one death that would bring him down, the death that would soon lead to his own happy one. For doing this to his love he would never forgive himself for as long as he lived, which he hoped, would not be long.   
  
Severus looked down at his lost love's smiling face as he took her hands in his, and leaned in for one final, soft kiss.  
  
A/N: As you can hopefully see, this is not the end. Keep reading, please. 


	25. Come Back To Me

Chapter 25- Come Back To Me  
  
I loved her like the leaves  
  
The lush leaves of spring  
  
That weigh the branches of the willows,  
  
Standing on the jutting bank.  
  
Where we two walked together,  
  
My life is built on her,  
  
To the wide fields where the heat haze shimmers,  
  
Hidden in a white cloud,  
  
White and white mulberry scarf,  
  
She soars like the morning bird,  
  
I pine, yet I have no way to meet her,  
  
The one I love, men say,  
  
Is in the hills of Hagai,  
  
So I labor my way there,  
  
Smashing rock-roots in my path,  
  
Yet get no joy from it,  
  
For, as I knew her in my life,  
  
I find not the dimmest trace.  
  
-I Loved Her Like the Leaves  
  
Where am I? , She thought desperately as a wave of illumination overtook her. I know very well that I should be dead, yet is this where I shall be? Aletta felt buzzed, yet so attentive at the same time. She didn't want to go, she wanted to stay with Severus. How could the heavens be so cruel and take her away from the only man she wished to possess? A beam of whiter light flashed before her and she found herself standing on a bright path in a sunny day, the flowers surrounding her, filling her senses. Confused, she ran as fast as she could down the path, up and over hills.   
  
She approached a hilltop, and gazed over into a beautiful lake, her family swimming and telling her to jump in and enjoy the cool waters. Her great uncle Albus sat on the edge of the lake, conversing with her grandfather, his brother, who had passed on year ago. Victor Dumbledore turned toward Aletta, gave her a smile and waved her down. She had missed her grandfather deeply and would have liked nothing else but jump in and swim over to talk to him. He was such a noble old man, like his brother, and she loved him dearly.   
  
Aletta gazed around and saw her grandmother, sitting and chatting with her mother under a huge sun umbrella, sipping glasses of iced tea. They too turned to her and waved her down. Aletta smiled and laughed happily as she waved back, wanting to dearly to join them, but then heard a rustle of leaves behind her.   
  
She pivoted to glance behind her and saw dark figure standing gallantly at the end of the path, staring at her with his passionate, embracing, ebony eyes. She then realized it was the man from the dreams that she had encountered in almost every night in the past. She was so sure that the man was Severus, she knew it since the first time she laid her eyes upon the professor. But something in the back of her mind told her that if it was Severus, than why was she sadly taken away from his side. The urge to run toward the man was so great, that she felt tears coming to her eyes. Aletta was torn from the confusion. She wanted to be with her family in that beautiful place below her, but something so strong inside her was pressing her toward the enigmatic man. Before she could turn to gaze back at the lake, the man in the black robes started toward her. Aletta amazingly felt not fear, but pure happiness. The man stood in front of her and took both of her hands in his strong, graceful ones. He leaned in and kissed her gently, lingering his soft lips upon hers for a moment, and then pulled away. Aletta's heart burst with song and splendor when he did this, and she reached out to push his hood back to reveal the face of this zealous man. But before she could touch the fine material, his hand quickly grabbed hers and brought it back to her side.   
  
"If you want me," he said passionately in a deep, ardent voice. "You must choose me, and not go to your family. You must give up that happy life you see down there, to be with me."  
  
Aletta gasped him and another tear escaped her eye. She gazed down to the path, realizing she was in an insipid white dress.   
  
"But know this," he said deeply and he brought her hands up to his chest and squeezed them. "For all of my life, I will love you and protect you. I may be a sarcastic bastard sometimes, but it cannot and will not overcome the desire I have to be with you and to care for you."  
  
Aletta looked back into his loving, black eyes, and knew that she did not need to see his face. Everything that was presented within his eyes, his heart and essence, was all she needed to see to know that he was the man she had always loved. The mysterious, passionate, intellectual man . . . Severus Snape.   
  
"I choose you," she said truly with all her heart.  
  
She saw him smile and lift his hands to his hood, "Then come back to me, love," and with that, he flipped his hood over his head.  
  
* * * * *  
  
Air fulfilled Aletta's lungs in a sharp gasp, and her eyes widened in shock as she breathed in quick pants. The figure of Severus, head in hands, was the first thing that appeared to Aletta's eyes. Her noisy, rasp of air brought Severus senses back, and his eyes were wide in wonder as he stared at the woman who had been brought back to life before him. Aletta sat herself up slowly and looked at Severus in amazement, and he too looked at her with as much. After the initial shock wore off, Aletta gave a small breathless laugh of glee and she realized she was alive. She looked at her injured arm and saw that the wound had been scarred over.   
  
"Aletta?" his deep, amazed voice said uncertainly next to her.   
  
She turned to his gaze and threw herself upon him. She kissed his face and lips ardently as tears of happiness rolled down her face.  
  
"Oh, Merlin! You saved me, Severus!" she cried in joy as he started to return her euphoria.   
  
Severus' brow furrowed as he started to sit up with her atop his lap. He pushed her away slightly to avoid her blissful kisses. "But I didn't do anything."  
  
Aletta didn't seem to be concerned about this because she knew that he somehow, miraculously did indeed save her. "Oh, yes you did! And I love you even more for it if that's even possible!"  
  
She threw her arms around his neck and hugged him as hard as she could. This man elated her in so many ways.   
  
"But I don't understand," he muffled into her shirt as he clung onto her too. "I knew that I wouldn't have been able to save you with a potion. The ingredients aren't even all here. So if I didn't do anything, than how did this phenomenon happen?"  
  
Aletta grasped him even harder and said, "Oh, you did save me. So much!"  
  
She pulled away and explained her whole dream sequence with him and he seemed more confused by the second. When she finished, she still saw the mild confusion on his face. The power of love was a whole new magic to him.   
  
"Don't you see? If that man weren't you, I would have picked my family, which would have resulted in my final death! That was my heaven that I was gazing into. And you, you were my savior."  
  
Aletta gazed at him breathlessly as she still gasped for air, the happiness overwhelming her. "Your love for me was strong enough to bring a magic that had brought me back to life, back to you."  
  
She said this very softly and quietly, her eyes full of emotion. Severus looked away from her and leaned his head against her chest and he sighed out with relief.  
  
"I though you were gone," he whispered gently. "And I would have not lived longer than tomorrow if you had not come back to me."  
  
Aletta wound her arms around him, pressed him closer to her and started to amuse herself with his silky, black hair.   
  
"I love you, you know?" she heard herself say again, yet she wasn't bothered about saying it now. It came out so freely, willingly.   
  
Severus brought his face from her chest and gazed up at her, "Yes. And I hope that you are aware of my feelings, as well?"  
  
So much like Severus, she thought.   
  
Aletta smiled down at him and answered, "Of course."  
  
He is more than a hero  
  
He is a god in my eyes-  
  
The man who is allowed  
  
To sit beside you-he  
  
Who listens intimately  
  
To the sweet murmur of  
  
Your voice, the enticing  
  
Laughter that makes my own  
  
Heart beat fast. If I meet  
  
You suddenly, I can't  
  
Speak-my tongue is broken;  
  
A thin flame runs under  
  
My skin; seeing nothing,  
  
Hearing only my own ears  
  
Drumming, I drip with sweat;  
  
Trembling shakes my body  
  
And I turn paler than  
  
Dry grass. At such times   
  
Death isn't far from me  
  
-He Is More Than A Hero  
  
NOT THE END! Just one more chapter! It think . . . I'm sorry this chapter is so short. 


	26. Read Please

Uhh, does everybody know that I updated. It's the last chapter. 


	27. Haha, read please

Haha, I'm sorry. I meant the last chapter that is up (which is chapter 15). And I was confused because I got no reviews and I didn't know if people read it or not. But yeah, there are going to be more chapters!  
  
SeverusSnape 


	28. The Cure

Chapter 26- The Cure   
  
Love me or not, love her I must or die;  
  
Leave me or not, follow her needs must I.   
  
O that her grace would my wished comforts give,   
  
How rich in her, how happy should I live!   
  
All my desire, all my delight should be,   
  
Her to enjoy, her to unite to me:   
  
Envy should cease, her would I love alone;   
  
Who loves by looks, is seldom true to me.   
  
Could I enchant, and that it lawful were,   
  
Her would I charm softly that none should hear.   
  
But love enforced rarely yields firm content;   
  
So would I love that neither should repent.  
  
By Thomas Campion (1567-1620)  
  
Five days later, Severus and Aletta had finally reached Hogwarts with every one of the ingredients to the potion. Luckily, Severus had extracted a sufficient amount of venom from the lifeless snake before it became entirely futile. He had to heave himself away from Aletta's grapple to do so.  
  
All of the castle's occupants were ecstatic when the two professors arrived. Though the gratitude and welcoming was pointed more toward Aletta than Severus. Severus didn't mind at all that he wasn't being welcomed with hugs and pecks on the cheek. He actually found it quite repulsive. Though he couldn't help but show a touch of pride when Aletta kissed him in front of the staff. The looks on their faces were priceless. Though Albus didn't seem to be surprised at all. Severus couldn't help but have a suspicion that somehow Albus was watching them all along, despite the foolishness of the thought. But the old geezer was brilliant and he knew everything and anything that went on in the world around him, to Severus' irritation. He remembered the numerous times that he had been told by Albus to be non-discriminatory against the little Gryffindor monsters. But he insisted to himself that he was just making up for the time when Mad-Eye Moody was so despicable to his class. Although he had to admit, the time he turned the little Malfoy brat into a ferret was quite entertaining. But he had to put up with Lucius Mafloy's displeasure the next day.   
  
Severus walked over to a nearby tree while the students and faculty expressed their revolting joy and delight for Aletta's return. He wished that he and Aletta were still back in the forest, away from these gleeful people, making love under the stars. Making love. Something he and Aletta had not partook in yet. Maybe she still didn't want him? But of course, they were both so busy, what with them watching the ingredients and walking constantly. And when the night had befallen, they had been so tired that they didn't even think of just sleeping in the same blankets. But now that they were back, Severus hoped that they would be able to get around to that happy activity.   
  
"Hey, grease ball," a taunting voice jeered from his right.   
  
Severus turned and looked Sirius Black up and down disapprovingly. "Who are you calling grease ball?"  
  
"Oh, come now, you can't even wear a hat on that or it'll slide right off!" he mocked, gesturing toward Severus' smooth locks.   
  
Severus arched an eyebrow and said, "I used to think you were a gibbering idiot, though now I have a much lower opinion of you."  
  
Sirius' brow furrowed and he said haughtily, "You were such a loser, Severus. Always being picked on by James and I," Sirius poked his face into Severus view of Aletta, "And you know what? I don't regret any of it, and I know James wouldn't either."  
  
Sirius had hit a nerve. And if they were not near such a public display, Severus would have beaten the living hell out of hateful man across from him.  
  
"Some people are has-beens," Severus said calmly, though gritted teeth. "But you, you are a never-was."  
  
Sirius eyes flashed, but he acted as though he hadn't heard him as he started to examine his hands, "I hope you really aren't keen on Aletta because she can't stand you. Over there the slut was telling us how-,"  
  
The rest of Sirius' sentence was muffled from the metal-fist punch that Severus had given him. Sirius flipped back onto the ground, his head hitting it hard. Severus walked toward him quickly, ready to do anything to kill the man he had always despised. Instead, Sirius lay on the ground chuckling, and then laughing. He sat up with a big toothy grin on his face as he looked up at Severus.   
  
"You do love her!" he yelled, thrusting his fist up into the air with mirth.   
  
Severus raised an eyebrow and him in question. Sirius laughed again and stood up, though a bit to quickly since he almost lost his balance. He slapped a hand on Severus' shoulder and received a death glare.  
  
"You know I didn't mean any of the things I said, mate," he laughed. "Though I was impressed with my grease ball joke."  
  
Severus was not impressed. He pushed Sirius hand off of his shoulder.  
  
"You did that just to see if I . . . had feelings for Aletta?" he growled, his eyes flashing dangerously.  
  
Sirius nodded happily and Severus grabbed him by the scruff of his neck, but realizing where he was, he let him go.   
  
"Do you understand that you could have gotten me sacked?" he hissed. "Someone could have seen!"  
  
Sirius smiled again and said, "Someone did see."  
  
Maya Claire approached them from the crowd, almost as if on cue, and said, "Nice show, Snape!"  
  
"What is the meaning of this?" Severus snarled at her.  
  
"Whoa, calm down," she said uneasily. "I just wanted to see if you really loved her or not. I mean, you can't blame me for being curious considering your . . . usual demeanor."  
  
Severus sighed. "I take it she already told you about us."  
  
Maya smiled and said, "Of course! Plus you guys kissed in front of us. I mean, how thick do you think we are?"  
  
Severus arched an eyebrow at her and she glared at him, but dismissed the rude gesture almost instantly.  
  
"So, did you guys have a good time, if you know what I mean?" Sirius asked as he raised his eyebrows suggestively at Severus.  
  
"Of course not!" Severus hissed. "And it's none of your damn business, anyway!"  
  
Sirius looked over at Maya with confusion, and she glanced back with as much. Sirius turned back to Severus and said, "So . . . you mean to say that you didn't have a nice time at all?"  
  
Severus sighed with annoyance, but answered anyway. "I did have quite a pleasurable time, if that's what you mean."  
  
A evocative snort came from Sirius and Maya smiled at him.  
  
"Can't you think of anything other than fornication?" Severus asked with a disgusted look, though he couldn't help the fraudulent image of him and Aletta pop into his mind.  
  
Sirius laughed even harder and Severus' use of words, and Maya joined in with just as much alacrity.   
  
"What, pray tell, is so amusing?" Severus asked with even more irritation than before.   
  
"Man, do you refer to sex as fornication in public?" Sirius asked between cackles. "If you do, then . . . well . . . I pity you."  
  
Severus suddenly boomed, "I do not and have not put myself in such an inelegant position where I had to utter about such a subject in public. But I'm convinced it is your preferred topic to converse about over a nice, candlelight dinner. And aren't you a bit old for Miss Claire, here."  
  
Sirius had calmed down by now and he held his aching stomach that was triggered by his loud guffaws. "Ah, a man's only as old as the woman he feels."  
  
Maya snorted and hit Sirius on the shoulder. "I'm only three years younger than him."  
  
Severus nodded his head in acknowledgement. "What ever happened to that one woman you chased when we were in our 7th year?"  
  
Sirius let a remembering smile sneak onto is face and he said, "I chased that girl for two years only to discover that her tastes were exactly like mine: We were both crazy about girls."  
  
Severus smirked and Maya laughed as Sirius sat down on the cool grass to stretch. Little footsteps were heard as Professor Mcgonagall approached Sirius. She muttered a little welcome to Severus, then turned to Sirius. Minerva had a very stern look on her face, more than usual, and she drew her nose upward.  
  
"Don't point that chin at me," said Sirius jokingly, "it might go off!"  
  
Maya snickered as Mcgonagall glared at him through her spectacles.  
  
"Sirius," Minerva said in a reprimanding tone, "you left your class unattended, and Draco Malfoy thought it was a good time to have a snogging session with one of the girl's in the corridor."  
  
"Ooh! Who's the girl?" Maya asked with hilarity.   
  
"Now that is none of your business, Miss Claire," she scolded gravely.  
  
"Why not?" Sirius complained. "You would tell Snape!"  
  
Mcgonagall's thin lips formed into a sly smile, "You're right, I would."  
  
Sirius through his arms up into the air, "Than why not tell us?"  
  
"Because you are not responsible enough to know. You would run around and scream it at the top of your lungs," she said harshly. "I know that you would go by any means to destroy the Malfoy name."  
  
Sirius shrugged his shoulders and smiled. "And what's the problem with that?"  
  
Severus joined the conversation, "Lucius Malfoy is the problem. We don't want the prick to hassle the school any more than he does."  
  
Sirius sat still, seemingly in thought, then he piped up. "Then we'll kidnap him and feed him to my griffin!"  
  
Severus rolled his eyes. "I'm leaving this discussion before it makes me go stupid."  
  
"So long, mate," Sirius called to Snape's retreating back. "And get laid tonight, will you?"  
  
Severus' shoulders stiffened and his fists clenched at the offensive comment. The blow he gave Sirius didn't seem like an error anymore.   
  
* * * * *  
  
"Headmaster."  
  
Albus Dumbledore turned around to see Severus Snape standing in the doorway of the private infirmary room, a potion bottle in hand.  
  
"It has been two days," Albus said quietly, "and you have already finished the potion? Haven't you even visited Aletta since you two had returned?"  
  
Albus looked very frail lately, Severus thought. The blue eyes that used to twinkle so frequently, only shone slightly. He seemed to have dark circles of sleep under his eyes, and he hunched more than usual. But brushing the thought away, Severus walked fully into the room and strode across to Albus, who had taken a seat in the chair next to Ron's bed, though it was empty.  
  
"Where is Weasley?" Severus asked into the uncomfortable silence, ignoring the headmaster's earlier question.  
  
"Ah, you see, I have made an error!" Albus said suddenly, catching Severus by surprise. "I apparated into the room, and I daresay the poor boy is frightened of me."  
  
Severus smirked at the thought and asked, "So he has . . .escaped?"  
  
"No," Albus answered simply. "Just cowering in the bathroom. Now," he said getting up slowly and gesturing toward the bottle in Severus' hand, " that is the potion, correct?"  
  
"Yes," Severus said as he handed it to him.  
  
"Are there any side effects we should know about?" Madame Pomfrey piped up as she entered the room in a rush.  
  
"Drowsiness."  
  
"And if he is allergic?"  
  
"I have the antidote," Severus answered plainly. "But I highly doubt that Weasley will be allergic."  
  
Dumbledore nodded and said, "Thank you, Severus."  
  
Severus nodded in return and handed the bottle to Madame Pomfrey's outstretched hand. He pivoted toward the door to take his leave when he suddenly felt a light tap on his shoulder. He looked back and Albus smiled at him.  
  
"Don't you want to learn how he had gotten in this position?" Albus asked as he nodded his head toward Ron who was now reluctantly exiting the bathroom. Madame Pomfrey was muttering things to him, telling him that everything was going to be all right.   
  
"I do," Severus answered.  
  
The professors gathered around the bed when Ron was settled down in it. Madame Pomfrey was just about to hand the uncorked bottle to Ron when they heard the door fly open behind them. Madame Pomfrey looked up sternly, about to chastise whomever stumbled into the room without knocking. But instead a smile planted on her face, and Severus turned around too, followed by Albus.   
  
"Sorry!" Aletta whispered as she closed the door silently.   
  
She tiptoed over to the bed and Ablus said, "This is not a funeral, Aletta. You may talk and make as much noise as you want. Though I wouldn't make to much on account of our terrified student here."  
  
Aletta smiled at him and walked over to stand next to her uncle. She avoided Severus gaze and looked on toward Ron.   
  
"Ready?" Madame Pomfrey asked in her gentlest voice as she handed Ron the bottle.  
  
Ron nodded and brought the mouth to his lips. He leaned his head back and gulped it down the small amount in one swallow. The next thing that happened was so fast that they could barely tell if it even happened or not. A whole wind of sparks broke through one of the glass windows, shattering the shards onto everyone and everything. The brush of wind blew past Aletta and knocked her over with a vast strength. Albus almost fell, but was caught by Severus. The sparks rushed toward Ron and sucked up into his ears and nostrils. Then it was over. Ron's eyes seemed to have changed. The confusion that was planted there before had diminished. And the way he held himself was the same as how he had before.   
  
"Why am I here?" Ron shouted suddenly as he jumped up with such a rapid pace. "Where are Harry and Hermione? I need to tell them what happened!"  
  
Severus quickly ran over to Aletta and ran his hand over her flawless back. It was amazing that her plunge onto the debris of glass made no abrasion to her. They walked out into the infirmary where they were alone, and she looked up at him and smiled as she wrapped her arms around his neck.  
  
"You did it, Severus," she whispered as the other occupants were busy talking. "You revived his memory."  
  
"No matter how lacking it was," Severus added with a smirk.  
  
"You are so evil," she said with a laugh as Severus arched a brow. "But I wouldn't want you to be anything more than that."  
  
Severus chuckled and said, "You go for the wicked, malicious ones, don't you?"  
  
Aletta smiled and answered, "It appears so."  
  
  
  
PS. Next chapter (last chapter) will be for you 'desperate' folk, if you catch my drift? 


	29. Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?

Chapter 27- Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?  
  
  
  
Tonight you're mine completely  
  
You give your love so sweetly  
  
Tonight the light of love is in your eyes  
  
But will you love me tomorrow  
  
Is this a lasting treasure  
  
Or just a moment's pleasure  
  
Can I believe the magic of your sighs  
  
Will you still love me tomorrow  
  
Tonight with words unspoken  
  
You said that I'm the only one  
  
But will my heart be broken  
  
When the night   
  
Meets the morning sun  
  
I'll like to know that your love  
  
Is love I can be sure of  
  
So tell me now and I won't ask again  
  
Will you still love me tomorrow  
  
Will you still love me tomorrow  
  
Will you still love me tomorrow  
  
Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow, Carole King  
  
Waiting with bated breath, the two professors sat down next to Ronald Weasley, ready to hear his report. Ron had already told Madam Pomfrey and Dumbledore what he had been doing that day, seemingly trying to make the whole situation more dramatic by replaying every detail since the time he woke up, to the time he slyly took guard behind the gargoyle statue in the corridor. Niceties that weren't important to know, and both Aletta and Severus were grateful for missing those irrelevant facts.   
  
Severus and Aletta had just walked in when Ron was explaining why he was spying on the two Mafloys'.   
  
"-because I swore I heard Voldemort's name," he was no longer anxious to speak the name, "So I stood there, a perfect view of the whole scene, considering it was a view of Malfoy. Anyway, Mr. Malfoy was telling Draco that it was only a few weeks more when they would finally be able to take Draco into their group. But Draco told his dad that he didn't want to be apart of it, and Mr. Malfoy beat him with his snake stick thingy. So, with all my luck, I sneezed. Mr. Malfoy saw me and I didn't even get out a word before he cast the curse on me."  
  
Aletta couldn't help her chuckle, even though it was such a serious situation. "Thank you, Ron. You told us your story with much . . . alacrity and . . . information."  
  
Dumbledore chuckled also, his eyes glinting. "You may go and report to your friends, if you wish," Severus gave the headmaster a look and Albus added, "I could never stop Mr. Weasley from telling the other two, so he might as well leave and tell them now."  
  
"Oh no, he isn't!" Madame Pomfrey scorned with a pointed finger. "You will spend at least one more night here, just to make sure you have no nasty side effects from the potion."  
  
Ron groaned and Dumbledore said, "Speaking of which, Aletta and Professor Snape are the reason that you have regained your memory, Ron. The two went out into the Forbidden Forest to find the difficult ingredients needed for the potion. And of course, dear Professor Snape brewed it for you."  
  
Snape glared at the older man for mentioning his deed, but he doubted that Ron would thank him.   
  
"Then I owe you a bunch of thanks!" Ron said joyfully to them, though he was looking more at Aletta than Severus.  
  
"It was my pleasure, Ron." Aletta said as she opened her arms for a hug.  
  
Ron stood up and hugged her tightly, a little too tight for Severus' comfort. He turned to Snape, about to give him a hug on impulse, but quickly remembered who the man was. He brought his arms down and held out his hand. Severus reluctantly took it, and they shook hands firmly.  
  
"Thank you, professor," he said very respectfully, clearing his throat afterwards.  
  
Severus nodded since he was not a person to return respect verbally, and Ron snuggled back into his bed reluctantly as Madame Pomfrey brought him a dreamless sleep potion.  
  
Aletta turned to leave and told Ron to sleep tight before she did. Severus followed her soon after.  
  
"It's great to look at Ron with his memory back, knowing that we were the cause of it," Aletta said happily as she and Severus strode through the corridor toward Severus' rooms. "Though it was mostly you that helped him. All I did was accompany you on the trip."  
  
"And you were a pleasing attendant, as I soon realized."   
  
Aletta turned her head to look at him, and he realized she had a little grin on her face. "If that isn't a compliment, I don't now what is."  
  
Severus turned to her, realizing that she looked exceptionally beautiful. Her eyes were aglint like starfire, and her robes were tight enough to reveal her desirable curved body. He deeply wished she was in his bed at the moment.   
  
"Ah, Aletta?" he asked cautiously, and she turned her angelic face to him as they entered the dungeons. "It pleases me to cook, and I have recently come up with a tasteful recipe that I wish for you to try. Therefore, do you think you would be available for dinner tonight in my private quarters?"  
  
Aletta chuckled inwardly at his very respectful and somewhat nervous way of asking her, considering what they have gone through together.  
  
Taking advantage of this uncharacteristically vulnerable man, Aletta decided to play around a bit. "Just the two of us?"  
  
Aletta swore she hinted a flash of nervousness in his usual brooding eyes, but it was gone as soon as it peeked out.   
  
Severus cleared his throat and said carefully, "You and I," Aletta humored herself with the idea that he knew the song that he had just finished off, "Is that a problem? I suppose if you don't want-"  
  
Aletta laughed, ashamed of herself for practically turning him into a stuttering boy who had just asked someone out on a date for the first time. Aletta snorted at the thought, aware that this probably was the first time he had ever asked a woman on a date. And for that, she was glad. Aletta couldn't stop the jealousy the sprouted in her when she even considered that there have been other women in his life.  
  
Severus hated being laughed at, "What is so amusing?" he asked, deadly serious.  
  
Aletta shut up right away. She knew the different tones of his voice, and that one meant that she was treading in dangerous waters.  
  
"I'm sorry, Severus," she said, ending her chuckles with some difficulty." The two of us, dinner in your rooms, and a dinner that you will cook! It sounds perfect," she ended with a smile.  
  
Severus nodded his head as they stopped in the corridor where their chambers were, "Good. You may come at seven."  
  
"And I will," Aletta said with a grin.   
  
Severus smirked back at her, not knowing whether to kiss her or just turn around and enter his room. They had not shared a kiss since the day they returned. Though it had been chaste, much to the staffs relief. He suddenly noticed that she had already entered her room, without a single good bye or wave. What was he supposed to have done?  
  
The whole ordeal confused him. He and Aletta had confessed their love in the forest, and he had been so sure of it. But now, it all seemed like a foolish fairy tale that didn't really exist. It all just seemed too perfect. Severus knew he loved her, deep down of course, but now he felt like they were drifting apart. Was all of the passion and love that he experienced in the forest just a side effect from being that deep in? He knew that there have been theories, theories that explained the middle of the forest to be brainwashing. But he had feelings for her before they even reached that spot, therefore he must really love her.  
  
Maybe this is what love was; confusion, doubt, and passion all mixed up to define the emotion. He certainly felt all those things, including fear. Something he had never really felt. When he attended the meetings with Voldemort , he had not felt fear, but bravery and determination. Even when he was in the most dire of all situations, he never essentially felt fear. But now, he felt fearful that she didn't really love him. Fearful that all of this was some big mistake and that none of it was real. But he remembered when he saw Aletta bitten by the snake, and when he held her, dying in his arms. That was when he felt the most fear the had ever experienced in his life. A fear that he would lose someone, someone that had been close to his heart, even if he had only known her for a short time. A fear that the only woman who had ever understood him, would diminish from his pitiful, lonely life.  
  
He barely knew her, but somehow he knew what she was about. A deeper love that he felt for her, and that he no longer doubted.From a sinful death eater to a forgiven spy to an accomplished Potions Master. It's funny how life works, he thought, and I am glad it has now led me . . . into the heart of an angel. And he hoped he would remain there forever.  
  
* ****  
  
"Brady, you will fetch me a baguette, 12 ounces of fresh black olives, and capers. When you return you will pit the olives, rinse and drain the capers, and cut the baguette into slices," Severus ordered the house elf sternly.  
  
He was pleased that they offered to help, and he knew that it was only a matter of time until Aletta would arrive. The dinner he was going to cook for her would not get done unless he had helpers.   
  
"Hanley," he turned to the other house elf to his right, "You will fetch me a chicken, about three and a half pounds, it may be a bit bigger if need be, but not smaller. I need country bread, and you will slice it as well as toast it, understood?"  
  
The house elf nodded and bustled away, ready to fulfill his orders perfectly. In the meantime, Severus boomed through his kitchen door, gazing around at the beautiful place. He had a kitchen that only a chef could dream of.  
  
"Oven, preheat to 400 degrees," Severus instructed in a strong voice, and a sound of rushing air fulfilled the oven.  
  
Severus walked over to an enormous teak wood cupboard, flipping the doors open, revealing a massive inventory of herbs and spices along with other ingredients. He pulled out bottles of freshened thyme, rosemary, sage, flat-leaf parsley, unground pepper and garlic. He floated them to the enormous counter in the center of the kitchen with his wand, and walked over to a smaller cupboard. From inside, he pulled out an oval earthenware large enough to hold the chicken that Hanley just plopped onto a counter, along with the toasted country bread. Severus nodded at the house elf just as Brady entered with the other things Severus ordered.   
  
"Good, now Brady, I want you to rinse these anchovies under cold water and rub them to remove all traces of salt. Separate them into fillets, removing the head and backbone. Then cut each fillet into small pieces."  
  
The elf nodded and grabbed the sardine can on the counter as Severus turned to Hanley, "Now I believe I will make the dessert simple. Therefore I will make it when she has already arrived and we are seated for dinner. I plan on making a Sorbetto Al Limone, which is lemon sorbet. Simple, yet appropriate, don't you think?"   
  
Hanley nodded nervously, not believing that the formidable Severus Snape was talking to him like he was a human being. "Yes, sir."  
  
"Yet we need to freeze it now, so you will boil, let us say . . . one cup of water with one cup of sugar for five minutes. Stir in . . . three cups of fresh lemon juice and let it cool. Then place it in the freezer over there," he said, pointing to an expensive-looking, muggle freezer.  
  
The elf nodded and headed off. Now it was time for the main course, Severus thought. He walked over to the chicken and sprinkled it with salt inside and out. He then stuffed the chicken with some thyme, rosemary, sage, and celery. He added the parsley and four cloves of garlic. Placing the remaining herbs and celery in the oval earthenware, he added the oil, salt, pepper, and remaining garlic cloves. After rolling the chicken in the oil to coat on all sides, he covered the pot and placed it in the oven. One and three fourths of an hour would do.   
  
Just as he finished this, Brady ran over to him with the sardine fillets on a plate.   
  
"Good, now combine the anchovies with the olives, garlic, and capers in the food processor. Add the mustard, cognac, pepper, and half of the oil and blend it to a thick paste. While you continue to blend it, add the rest of the oil. When it is finished, transfer it to an appropriate serving bowl. When you are finished, you may leave."  
  
The elf nodded and ran off to do his job. Now all Severus had to do was wait for Aletta, which would be another unbearable hour.   
  
* *****  
  
  
  
Severus long form was lounged on his black leather sofa, sleeping peacefully before a blazing fire. He had meant to read his Potions Weekly magazine, but was lulled to sleep by the soft music that gently played in the background. Music was always a perfect remedy for his insomnia, which he experienced almost every night. Though he would end up waking about five times during the night, unable to enter the world of peaceful sleep. So a midnight walk through the corridors usually brought drowsiness to him.   
  
Suddenly a light tapping noise was heard at the door, but failed to rouse the occupant of the room. A few more light taps were followed by knocks, but Severus snoozed on. A rap on the door, and Severus bolted upright, his wand in hand. He chuckled to himself when he realized he had fallen asleep beautifully at such a wrong time. Another rap was banged onto his door and realization dawned on him again. Aletta was waiting for him outside. He was suddenly angry at himself, and he brushed a hand through his tousled unkempt hair, but made no improvement to it. He hadn't even dressed yet. He was still in a normal pair of black pants and a white shirt, which were crinkled from his slumber.   
  
"Severus, are you there?" he heard her somewhat annoyed voice ask hopefully from the door.  
  
"Coming!" Severus somewhat yelled from his distanced spot on the couch.   
  
What could he do? First of all, he couldn't answer the door in his tousled appearance.  
  
"Severus, I was getting annoyed so I just came in."  
  
He heard her soft voice over by the door and looked over at her in confusion. Severus was about to ask how she got in, but his mouth literally dropped open when he saw her form. His messy appearance was almost instantly forgotten as he stood to greet her.   
  
"What, is the party over already?" she asked in reference to his appearance.  
  
Severus couldn't take his eyes off her. She was dressed in a sparkly, strapless white dress that reached to her knees and hugged her desirable features.   
  
Fortunately, the chicken had just finished, hence the ring that disrupted Severus' thoughts. He didn't hear her earlier question and brushed off to the kitchen without saying a word. Aletta furrowed her brow in confusion as she saw his awkward form move away from her. But almost jumped from her sandals when he entered right back into the room, almost instantly after he went into the kitchen.  
  
"The food still needs to cool, so I think I'm going to go get dressed," he said quickly as he started toward his bedroom, though he stopped swiftly and added, "And I apologize for my appearance. You see, the music you hear now is to blame. It lulled me to sleep while I was reading my magazine."  
  
"What kind of magazine?" Aletta asked jokingly as she tilted her head to the, a curl escaping it' tie on the back of her head.  
  
Snape smirked at her and walked over to her to brush the tendril of hair behind her ear. "Those magazines are usually in Black's possession," he said as his glittering dark eyes stared at her, "And for your information, it's Potions Weekly."  
  
Aletta made a mock gasp, but wasn't able to finish it as Severus' soft mouth covered her own. She opened her mouth for him and his tongue was very much obliged as it dueled with her own. Aletta was about to circle her arms around his neck when he pulled away.  
  
Severus cleared his throat, "I think I should go get cleaned up. But in the mean time, you may help yourself to the bar."  
  
Aletta smiled sensuously and nodded at him. He nodded back with a smirk and swept off to his bedroom.  
  
  
  
* * * * * **  
  
Twenty minutes later, Severus emerged from the kitchen, a plate of bread in one hand, and a bowl of spread in the other. Aletta was quite smitten with his appearance. He had on black slacks and a white chemise. Simple, yet elegant.  
  
"How did exit from the kitchen when you were in your bedroom?" Aletta asked, fascinated with the man before her.  
  
Severus' brow scrunched up in thought and he mused to himself, "I don't know. . . "  
  
Aletta smirked and said, "You are truly a wizard, Severus."  
  
"Now I wouldn't say that just yet," Aletta arched a brow. "There are many other things you will soon learn about me. My flawless culinary talents. My talent on the cello. And my talented passion."  
  
Aletta was being extremely turned on by his silky voice, and they had not even gotten started. "Then I look forward to learning your talents, especially the latter."  
  
Severus smirked. "Follow me, milady."  
  
Aletta grabbed her glass of wine and followed him into a small, but gorgeous dining room. She took a seat at the small mahogany table in the center of the room as he set the platters onto the table. Aletta admired how he decorated it, with candlelight and roses in the middle. Her attention, however, was mostly drawn to the delicious-looking spread on the table.  
  
"It's called Tapenade," Severus purred as he sat down across from her. "The name of this dish, the first course, derives from the word tapeno, which is the Provencal equivalent of capers," he started to spread some elegantly onto a piece of bread. "In fact, Toulon capers are an indispensable ingredient of this wonderfully flavored sauce."  
  
Aletta's nether regions were already aching for him, and the way he explained the dish, with such passion and wit, was enough to bring her to the edge.   
  
Severus set a small plate of the sauced bread onto her plate. She saw Severus take a bite of his, nodding in approval, though not boasting. Aletta brought her own bread to her mouth, and took a bite. She had always been one to try new things, and ended up loving them. Though this dish, was making her melt. He had not told her that olives were in them! One of her favorite foods, and tasting it with the capers and garlic was mouth-watering. She expressed great approval of this dish, and Severus smiled with ease.  
  
The main course soon arrived with a snap of Severus' elegant fingers, and Aletta's eyes were graced with a delicious-looking chicken, surrounded by garlic cloves and celery stalks.   
  
"Oh Severus, it looks delicious!" Aletta exclaimed as he started to cut it with expertise.  
  
"In Provence, where it is called the poor man's truffle, garlic is the basis of the local cuisine," he purred again in a velvety rich voice. "Braised en chemise, 'in a shirt' in other words, the garlic cloves become soft and creamy, making a delicious puree that enhances the flavor of poultry. And it always needs to be accompanied with a white wine."  
  
It is very uncomfortable to be aroused when eating dinner, Aletta thought as he served some chicken onto her plate. He placed a slice of bread onto her plate, as well.  
  
"For the bread, you may use the Tapenade, though I find it pleasing to crush the garlic slightly to remove the skin and spread the wonderful fragrant puree that is left onto it."  
  
Aletta nodded in amazement. This man was truly genius when it came to cooking, as well as potion-making.  
  
After they finished eating the delicious meal, Severus suggested to move to the couch.  
  
"I would love to," Aletta said with a smile as she finished off her white wine.  
  
Severus stood swiftly, like a sly cat, and they both walked leisurely to the black, leather couch. When they sat down, Aletta turned to him, her eyes widened with acceptance.  
  
"Now I understand why you fell asleep," she said humorously. "This sofa is very comfortable."  
  
Severus smirked and said, "I got it from a muggle store in London. I feel that my taste in furnishing products leans more toward the muggle side."  
  
Aletta nodded and said, "As I've seen since you have your own muggle kitchen. I didn't take you for a muggle-lover."  
  
Snape glared at her with his onyx eyes, but it was soon brushed away as Aletta planted a soft kiss on his soft lips. "Relax, I'm only joking."  
  
Severus glared at her again. "I hate jokes."  
  
Aletta laughed and said, "You're quite a joker yourself.'  
  
Severus smirked and swept his lips to her own. It was a kiss almost tentative, very tender, testing. She kissed him back so lovingly, so willingly. She kissed him as she did when she finally gave into his drugging kisses in the forest. But there was no doubt or hesitation involved here. She kissed him because she wanted to and for no other reason.  
  
As their lips parted, Severus said in a rugged voice, "How is that for a joke?"  
  
"Oh, that's no joke," Aletta said breathlessly as Severus smirked.  
  
The shadows of the flickering flames in the fire covered them, causing the lust in both of their eyes to flicker as well. Aletta wasn't discomforted by his desirable looks. They had been alone so many times before. But it had never been like this. It had never felt like this.  
  
"Straddle me, Aletta," he said, his eyes almost dangerous-looking.  
  
It was a shocking suggestion. The sort that should have got his face slapped.  
  
Instead she rose from her chair and hurried herself onto him. She hesitated in front of him as if uncertain of what to do or how to proceed. Gingerly she lowered her backside to his knees.  
  
Rome refused to allow her such reticence. He was sure that any moment they would both come to their senses. He was not willing to waste these few fleeting moments by faltering.  
  
With one hand on her hip and the other on her thigh, he turned her so she straddled him correctly, her backside on his lap and her legs resting on the couch beside either of his thighs. It felt right. It felt perfect. So naturally her arms slid around his neck. The front of her bosom was against his chest. Her round, firm buttocks were atop his erection. This was how it felt good. This was how he wanted her in his arms.   
  
"Kiss me," he told her. "Kiss me like it will cost you everything that you might ever possess."  
  
She did. After a short afternoon of practice, their mouths sought each other with welcome and confidence. She tugged and playfully bit at him. He answered with equivalent urgency.  
  
Severus arms wrapped around her, and she didn't show any reluctance as she had done in the forest. In fact, as the kiss deepened, she pressed herself to him.  
  
Lovingly he ran his hand upward from her waist to the side of her breast. He wanted to touch her, but he dared not. He had been so demanding in the forest, not caring whether she wanted him or not. But now, he felt like he had glass in his arms that he would break if he tried anything to sexual. Though he smoothed his way back to her waist again, only to retrace his journey once more. Finally, as she opened wider for him, allowing his tongue its will to exploration, he moved his hand across the top of the smooth roundness of her.  
  
In truth, he could feel virtually nothing. There were not many layers of clothing between his hand and her flesh, but he still had no clue to her shape or size, the warmth of her skin or the site of her nipple. But she gasped, from modesty or pleasure he did not know, but the sound of it went through him like fire, stirring his loins.  
  
Aletta ended the kiss, hiding her face against his neck.  
  
He squirmed on the couch.  
  
She sat up. "Am I too heavy for you?" she asked him.  
  
"Oh, no," he answered truthfully.  
  
His movements were more an opportunity to press himself against her than to relieve himself of her weight. Relief was not what that offered. The more pleasurably he sawed himself upon her, the more need for relief was required.   
  
They kissed once more, expressing with their mouths the things they were afraid to say in words. Severus loved the taste of her, he loved the feel of her. She had become his in a way he had not expected. It was a dream and he didn't wish to awaken from it.  
  
He continued to caress her breast. But the frustration of all the clothing began to grate upon him. With his other hand he began unzipping the zipper at the back of her dress.  
  
"What are you doing?" she asked him, her lips against his neck. "Are you removing my dress?"  
  
She hadn't told him not to. She'd simply asked if that was what he was doing.  
  
"Of course not," Severus assured her. "I'm . . . I'm simply going to loosen your dress a little."  
  
"You're going to loosen my dress?"  
  
Once more it was not a protestation.  
  
"Yes, you . . . you are breathing heavily. I can't have you fainting from my skilled caresses."  
  
"You pompous prick," she said, bringing her lips eagerly to his once more.  
  
Her enthusiastic passion was so unexpected, so lustful, he feared he might faint himself. His whole body seemed to have turned to jelly. That is, except the part that was a throbbing, aching ramrod.  
  
Once the zipper was unzipped, he began peeling the garment down her arms. He'd had enough experience with women's clothing to know that while a bra could be taken off over the head, it could be done away with entirely if a man could get his hands upon the front hooks.  
  
Naturally she would never allow him to do such a thing, he reminded himself. And she certainly shouldn't, if she didn't want to. If he were a true gentleman, he should stop right now. He didn't behave as one.  
  
He pulled the pretty white dress down off her bosom. Her strapless bra cover was virginal white, lacy and pretty. Nothing sensual and seductive about it. The sight, however, had him adjusting in the chair once more.  
  
She looked down and what he had done. And then looked up to meet his gaze. In the dim light he could see her lower lip tremble and the glow of perspiration upon her brow. But it was the expression in her eyes that held him. An expression of both desire and fear. She wanted him, but she was afraid.  
  
"I should let you go, Aletta," he said.   
  
She didn't even glance toward the door. "We should go to your bed," she told him. "You should take me. Take me, Severus. Make love to me."  
  
He did not need to be asked twice. With one arm beneath her knees and one behind her shoulder, he rose to his feet in a swift, sure motion. She wrapped her arms around his neck, clinging to him closely as if to protect her modesty from the eyes so intent on assailing it.  
  
When they reached the door, it was her hand that opened it. He crossed the threshold with Aletta in his arms and then slammed the door loudly behind him with his heel.  
  
She was trembling again, this time clearly in fear. Either of them might awake to good sense any time. It was paramount that he reassure them both while they were still so foolishly out of their minds. He kissed her. Long and lovingly, he kissed her. She returned the gesture with equal fervency and pressed her bosom to his chest.   
  
"I have never . . . never felt like this," she whispered.  
  
"Neither have I," he answered and realized as he heard the words that he spoke the truth.  
  
Severus set her down gently onto his large bed, marveling at her wonton look as she laid her head back against his pillow. Severus sat beside her reclined position. He touched her lips with his own, lightly, gently, three times. Then he kissed her again, this time with the passion they'd shared on the couch. She met him, his equal in devotion and desire.  
  
He smoothed her thin, girlish bra over her breast, swallowing the desire it evoked. He wanted to see her breasts. He wanted to kiss them, caress them.  
  
"Aletta, if you don't want me to touch you-"  
  
"Touch me," she answered, guiding his hand to the hooks on the front of her bra. "Please touch me."  
  
Rome couldn't deny either of them. He made hasty work of the three strong hooks that kept her bound so tightly. He pushed the offending garment away as he clasped her breasts in his hands. Finally flesh against flesh.  
  
Her breath came through the depths of her throat, deep and impassioned. Severus caressed her naked bosom, marveling at its size and firmness. Her nipples were thick and hard, begging him to handle and tease them, begging him to taste them. He did.  
  
She gasped at the touch of his tongue upon her, drawing up her knees. It was a fortuitous move. Severus slipped in between her thighs, spreading her before him.  
  
He took turns suckling one breast and then the other as she squirmed and writhed beneath him, moans of earthly carnality emitting from her throat. Never had any woman felt so sensual, so desirable in his arms. Never had he wanted a woman as he wanted this one.  
  
He whipped her nipples with his tongue. A sensation that she greatly enjoyed, judging by the flailing of her head from side to side and her inability to keep her legs stilled.  
  
Severus grabbed her knee and bent it, curving her leg around his waist. He allowed his hand to traverse the length of her thigh. He slipped his hand under her dress. The flesh there was so soft, so welcoming, he nearly moaned aloud.  
  
She did exactly that. Begging for more with phrases like, "Oh, please!" "Yes, Severus." "Please, Severus." "Yes! Please! Oh! Severus!"  
  
He knew what she needed. He knew what she wanted. Even if she did not know herself. He brought his thigh up tightly into the crux of her legs.  
  
At first she didn't seem to know what to do. It was as if she were waiting for him to explain the rules. In her innocence, she did not know that desire has no rules. He leaned down to nibble lightly upon her neck. Ever so gently, he rubbed his hand against her and then whispered into her ear.  
  
"Do what feels good," he told her. "Move as it feels good."  
  
She hesitated.  
  
He swirled his tongue into her ear and then whispered again more breathily, "Find pleasure, Aletta," he said. "I want you to find pleasure with me."  
  
Tentatively she began to move. Ever so curiously, she eased herself against the hardness of his thigh. Severus urged her on with words, caresses and kisses.  
  
"That's it," he praised her. "Yes, my precious, my love. Yes, that's it."  
  
Little whimpers of needs were escaping her. He held her fast, glorying in her. He slipped his hand between them. Down past her waist, along the seam line of her panties, pouty lips so near his knee. She was close. She was very close. Just a little push would send her over the edge. Just a tiny push and she would know pleasure the way a man could give it to her. The way Severus could give it to her. He wanted to give it to her. He wanted to do it.   
  
Her cries and words and pleas were coming faster now. Her body was squirming beneath him, riding him.   
  
As his hand moved lower she fought between the desire to spread herself for him and the urge to clutch him to her more closely. He understood what she wanted. He wanted it too. He wanted it so badly, he ached from it. There could be nothing more pleasurable than being inside her. Buried deep inside her. Being one with her. That was what he wanted. But he wouldn't take it. He wouldn't take it now.   
  
He moved his hand lower and lower along the front of her panties until he caressed her intimately.   
  
She whimpered his name. Begging for what she did not know. But he did. Softly, gently, he touched her, mapping her, appreciating her. Then he slipped his hand under the fabric, pressing her labium together between his last three fingers and the ball of his hand, forcing the tiny nubbin to squeeze outward and reveal itself to his touch. He grasped her between his thumb and forefinger, and manipulated her with painstaking tenderness.   
  
Her orgasm was like a thunderbolt, sudden and intense. Then, like an earthquake, there was more in the aftermath. She cried out his name.  
  
Aletta was trembling and he pulled her closer. Kissing her eyes, her cheeks, her chin, her lips. He unfurled the dress that had ended up at her waist and brought it up to cover her. After he zipped her up, he removed his trousered leg from the wet warmth it had so recently awakened and straightened her skirt more modestly. He sat beside her upon the bed. It was full darkness now and he could not see her face. But he could hear her breathing and he comforted himself that there were no tears or recriminations in the sound.  
  
"I'm going to go get dessert," his said finally, his own voice sounding strange to his ears.  
  
"Wasn't that it?" Aletta asked breathlessly as she sat up too. "Though I don't think we've quite finished."  
  
Aletta felt much more bolder now that they had been so intimate with each other, and she moved over to sit next to him, though he stood up just as she had.   
  
"I'll be back," he said with a smile that she could not see.  
  
When he opened the door, the flickering flames that danced off the walls of the room flowed into the bedroom, giving Aletta a clear view of his ruffled hair and clothes and he walked out. She smiled to herself, remembering how he had stimulated her by not even touching her. He had told her to move against him, a new thing that she had never heard of, though she had found it extremely erotic.   
  
Severus soon returned with two martini glasses full of a lemon sorbet. He gave her one, along with the spoon and explained it just as he had before with the other foods, "Now, lemon sorbet is usually served halfway through the meal because it is an excellent digestive, though it was not ready for that time earlier. While the first course was French, this dessert is Italian. And Sicily is famous for its wonderfully fragrant lemons, certainly the best in the world. In fact, lemon orchards are now replacing most of the orange orchards."  
  
Aletta had finished the delicious dessert right when he ended, "You are amazing, Severus."  
  
As Severus took his last bite, his looked up at her with a smirk and said, "Not half as amazing as you are."  
  
She set her glass down on a nightstand and he did the same, and as she turned to him he lowered himself to her and she wrapped her arms around his neck. Openmouthed, she met his kiss with her own.  
  
It was just as it had been between them. Sweet and hot, matched and matchless. The taste of him was oh, so familiar and her body recognized him as well. She curved herself upward from the bed ticking to press herself closer.  
  
He moaned deep in his throat.  
  
"I love you, Aletta," he whispered. "I love you so very much."  
  
He kissed her mouth, he eyelids, her forehead, her cheeks. He tenderly feathered his lips along her jaw line to her ear.  
  
"Love me, Aletta," he pleaded. "Love me, if you ever can."  
  
"I do love you," she answered. "I love you, Severus Snape."  
  
He muffled a shout of joy against her throat.  
  
She arched her neck to give him more access. He took it eagerly, testing and tasting her from the edge of her collarbone to the delicate flesh between her breasts. Such a tender touch took her breath away.  
  
His strong, dependable hands, so warm and soothing, moved upon her fevered skin.  
  
The right hand found its way to her bosom, weighing her breast and urging the nipple to rise, turgid and eager, for his touch. He did not leave her wanting, but took the small, hardened bud between in thumb and forefinger and tweaked it in a fashion that was all pleasure and no pain.  
  
The force of the sensation sizzled down her body to her most secret and intimate places. She gasped from the intensity of it and drew up her legs to try to tamp down the fire.  
  
"Yes," he said, so close to her ear. "Yes, I know what you're needing. I know what you're wanting. I need it too. I want it too."  
  
As if to emphasize the truth of his statement, he drew her hand down between them. Through his trousers she felt the long, hard length of him.   
  
She stilled abruptly.  
  
He kissed her and allayed her with whispered soothing word. "You don't have to be afraid," he told her. "I'll be very gentle. We'll take it very slow. If you tell me to stop, I'll stop."  
  
"Stop," she told him.  
  
There was a moment's hesitation on his part and then he pulled away from her. Sitting back on his heels at the end of the bed, his legs straddled on either side of him.  
  
His eyes were focused completely upon hers. He did not for an instant glance away.  
  
"What are you doing?" Aletta asked him.  
  
"You told me to stop," he said. "So I stopped."  
  
That was good, she told herself. Somehow it didn't feel that way.  
  
"I am your partner," he said, "in everything with you, Aletta. I want what you want."  
  
She was still nervous. She was still afraid. But she did love him and she did want him, very much.  
  
Aletta sat up. She was in a very unladylike position, her clothes all bunched up and her legs spread before him. Bravely, in one motion, she pulled her dress off over her head and discarded it on the floor.  
  
Severus was watching her. His eyes were so intense upon her skin, the look was almost scorching.  
  
She ran hand along his shoulders and to his collar. When her fingers arrived at the first of the line of black buttons down the from of his chest, she hesitated.  
  
"It's been my experience that in any severe and unforeseeable downturn," she said, "and perhaps we can call these loosened bedcovers exactly that, both partners lose their shirts simultaneously."  
  
He smiled at her as she undid all the buttons and peeled the impediment to his bare chest from his back.  
  
"What about undergarments?" he asked her. "Do partners lose their undergarments as well?"  
  
Aletta glanced down and couldn't help blushing at the evidence of his arousal.  
  
"I'm not sure I've heard undergarments mentioned in terms of economic conditions," she told him.  
  
"I don't believe I have either," he admitted as they each explored the naked flesh of the other. "But I have heard it said, Aletta, not to mix economics with pleasure. And what I want to share with you is totally and completely pleasure."  
  
He slid his arms more tightly around her, easing her closer. Warm flesh against warm flesh was enticing, almost overpowering. Aletta shivered, but she was so hot.  
  
Severus began to shower her with kisses on her face, her arms, her breasts, her belly. She trembled, glorying in the way he touched her.  
  
"Do you remember how you felt earlier?" he asked her.  
  
"Oh, yes," she answered. The words came out more like a moan than a reply.  
  
"I'm going to make you feel like that again," he promised. "Would you like that?"  
  
What a silly question to ask. She didn't bother to answer, but simply sought his mouth with her own in reply.  
  
His hands were not gentle or tentative upon her. He was certain and eager. He wanted to please her and he knew how. He kneaded her bosom and nipped each breast in turn until she could think of nothing else but his mouth there.  
  
When he moved his head lower and the cool air assaulted the raised, damp point, she whined in complaint.  
  
He ignored her as he lay a trail of delicate love bites from her midriff to below her navel. As his face approached the crux of her spread thighs, she demurely attempted to draw her legs together.  
  
Severus would have none of it. He braced a hand on each knee and opened her wide before him. She gave a little cry of astounded shock before he lowered his mouth to the source of her feminine secrets that twitched with immodest eagerness.  
  
Her dismay quickly fled as incoherence took over. She could not think or wonder or even express herself in words. Her head flailed from side to side and the sounds that came from her mouth were indecipherable, except for their origin, which was ecstatic pleasure. As his tongue flourished upon her with rapidity and persistence, she began grinding her hips to get more, to feel more.   
  
When she reached the pinnacle, it was so vivid, so powerful, she tried to pull away from him. But he held to her and helped her through until she cried out his name in ardent passion, shattering her remaining fears and restraints.  
  
He held her tightly in his arms thereafter, soothing her, praising her. He kissed her and she tasted herself upon his lips. He tasted of her and himself and the indescribable fervor they'd shared.  
  
"That was . . . it was . . . I can't believe . . ."  
  
"I know," he whispered. "And there is more."  
  
Aletta sighed and said, "Next time, I will return the favor in the same way," she reached her hand down and stroked him.   
  
"No," he said as he took her hand away. "I don't think I can hold it if you do that. Maybe like you said, next time."  
  
Aletta smiled and asked, "So there is more?"  
  
He drew her hand to her own body, which was now hot and wet and so very sated, it seemed.  
  
"Do you feel that?" he asked her.  
  
She nodded. It was as if the lips of her entrance had opened wide, a puckered, seeking edge raised high.  
  
"You've bloomed for me like a flower," he told her. "I will promise not to hurt you."  
  
Aletta believed him. With no trepidation at all, she unbuttoned the front of his trousers. She had never seen a real naked man before and was a little taken aback by both the difference from herself and the sheer dimensions of his body parts.  
  
"How do you keep something that big in your pants?" she joked truthfully.  
  
Severus gave her a teasing bite and settled himself between her thighs. "I'm hoping that I won't have to so much, now that you are mine."  
  
It was as he had promised. Slow and gentle. He eased himself inside with only the mildest of resistance. There was stretching, accommodating, but somehow it was not uncomfortable. In face, once he was buried completely inside her, Aletta felt a wholeness, a perfection, that brought tears to her eyes.  
  
"Am I hurting you?" he asked.  
  
"Oh, no," she assured him.  
  
"Are you . . . are you sorry to give yourself to me?"  
  
She opened her eyes wide then, hurriedly disabusing him of that notion.  
  
"I love you," she told him. "I have loved you for some time. But at this moment, I love you more than I thought it was possible to love. And I feel more a part of you than I thought possible for one person to feel for another."  
  
The tears slid from her eyes back toward her temples.   
  
"I'm crying with joy," she said. "With immeasurable happiness. I don't ever want you to stop doing this."  
  
Severus' grin was warm and understanding, his eyes bright with the same emotions that she was feeling. But when her spoke, his words were teasing.  
  
"Stop? Aletta, I haven't even started yet."  
  
  
  
Afterwards, Aletta felt complete. Complete with the world and Severus Snape.  
  
With her head rested against his muscular chest, she looked up at him with a smile, "That was so incredible, I still feel the tingles."  
  
Severus smiled and tightened his one arm around her while his other rested behind his head. "You were as tight as a vice."  
  
Aletta blushed, "I love you."  
  
"And I you," he answered, kissing her forehead lightly.  
  
Aletta sat up suddenly, wrapping the blanket around her bosom, "But Severus, will you still love me tomorrow?"  
  
Severus smiled as he brought his hand up to her cheek, "Tomorrow . . . and forever more."  
  
  
  
THE END  
  
A/N- This was my first attempt at smut, I hope it lived up to your expectations. I did a lot of work on this chapter, as you probably know since I haven't updated in awhile. I hope you enjoyed my story! Thanks for reading, and please review!  
  
I would like to thank Psycho-Kitty-Purra for helping me on stuff throughout the story and for being a great friend!  
  
This story is dedicated to Alan Rickman and the dear departed Richard Harris. 


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